TH1-    CANON 


OF 


REASON  AND  VIRTUE 


(LAO-TZE'S   TAO   TEH    KING) 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  CHINESE 


DR.  PAUL  CARUS 


>d  Edition 


CHICAGO 
THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

LONDON  AGENTS 
KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER  &  Co.,  LTD. 

1909 


COPYRIGHT,  1903 

BY 

THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


FOREWORD. 


booklet,  The  Canon  of  Reason  and  Virtife,  is  an  extract 
JL  from  the  author's  larger  work,  Lao-Tze's  Tao  i  eh  King +  "*  *  / 
and  has  been  published  for  the  purpose  of  making  our  reading 
public  more  familiar  with  that  grand  and  imposing  figure  Li  Er,1 
who  was  honored  with  the  posthumous  title  Poh-  Yang,  i.  e.,  Prince 
of  the  Strong  Principle ;  but  whom  his  countrymen  simply  call 
Lao-Tze,  the  Old  Philosopher. 

Sze-Ma  Ch'ien,  the  Herodotus  of  China,  who  lived  about  136- 
85  B.  C.,  has  left  a  short  sketch  of  Lao-Tze's  life  in  his  Shi  Ki 
(Historical  Records)  which  is  here  prefixed  as  the  most  ancient 
and  only  well  attested  account  to  be  had  of  the  Old  Philosopher. 

Being  bornln  604  B.  C.,  Lao-Tze  was  by  about  half  a  century 
the  senior  of  Confucius.  He  must  during  his  life  have  attained 
great  fame,  for  Confucius  is  reported  as  having  sought  an  interview 
with  him.  But  the  two  greatest  sages  of  China  did  not  understand 
each  other,  and  they  parted  mutually  disappointed. 

If  Confucius's  visit  to  Lao-Tze  were  not  historical,  we  should 
have  to  regard  it  as  ben  trovato,  for  the  contrast  between  these 
two  leaders  of  Chinese  thought  remains  to  the  present  day.  The 
disciples  of  Confucius,  the  so-called  "Literati,"  are  tinged  with 
their  master's  agnosticism  and  insist  on  the  rules  of  propriety  as 
the  best  methods  of  education,  while  the  Tao  Sze,  the  believers 
in  the  Tao,  or  divine  Reason,  are  given  to  philosophical  specula- 
tion and  religious  mysticism.  The  two  schools  are  still  divided, 
and  have  never  effected  a  conciliation  of  their  differences  that 
might  be  attained  on  a  common  higher  ground. 

At  an  advanced  age  Lao-Tze  wrote  a  short  book  on  Reason  and 

Virtue,  Tao  Teh,  in  all  outward  appearances  a  mere  collection  of 

aphoristic  utterances,  but  full  of  noble  morals  and  deep  meditation. 

It  met  the  reward  which  it  fully  deserved,  having  by  imperial  decree 

lAlso  spelled  'Rh. 


20O509S 


IV  FOREWORD. 

been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  canonical  authority ;  hence  the  name 
King  or  "canon,"  completing  the  title  Tao  Teh  King,  as  now 
commonly  used. 

Lao-  Tze's  Tao  Teh  King  contains  so  many  surprising  anal- 
ogies with  Christian  thought  and  sentiment,  that  were  its  authen- 
ticity and  pre-Christian  origin  not  established  beyond  the  shadow 
of  a  doubt,  one  would  be  inclined  to  discover  in  it  traces  of  Chris- 
tian influence.  Not  only  does  the  term  Tao  (word,  reason)  corre- 
spond quite  closely  to  the  Greek  term  Logos,  but  Lao-Tze  preaches 
the  ethics  of  requiting  hatred  with  goodness.  He  insists  on  the 
necessity  of  becoming  like  unto  a  little  child,  of  returning  to  prim- 
itive simplicity  and  purity,  of  non-assertion  and  non-resistance, 
and  promises  that  the  deficient  will  be  made  entire,  the  crooked 
will  be  straightened,  the  empty  will  be  filled,  the  worn  will  be  re- 
newed, those  who  have  too  little  will  receive,  while  those  who  have 
too  much  will  be  bewildered.  The  Tao  Teh  King  is  brief,  but  it 
is  filled  to  the  brim  with  suggestive  thoughts. 

In  the  present  edition  of  the  "  Canon  of  Reason  and  Virtue" 
the  translator  has  incorporated  all  the  changes  and  emendations 
which  he  proposes  in  the  preface  to  the  second  issue  of  his  more 
complete  work  on  the  same  subject,  entitled  Lao-Tze" 's  Tao  Teh 
King.  The  latter  contains  an  historical  introduction,  the  Chinese 
text,  a  transliteration,  explanatory  notes  and  an  index,  including 
the  Chinese  terms.1  The  present  extract  is  limited  to  that  portion 
which  to  English  speaking  people  is  of  universal  interest,  the  Eng- 
lish translation.  For  the  convenience  of  the  reader  and  to  prevent 
confusion  in  quotations,  the  paging  of  this  larger  book  has  been 
retained  in  this  extract. 

May  this  little  book  fulfil  its  mission  and  be  a  witness  to  the 
religious  spirit  and  philosophical  depth  of  a  foreign  nation  whose 
habits,  speech,  and  dress  are  strange  to  us.  We  are  not  alone  in 
the  world  ;  there  are  others  who  search  for  the  truth  and  are  grop- 
ing after  it.  Let  us  become  better  acquainted  with  them,  let  us 
greet  them  as  brothers,  let  us  understand  them  and  appreciate 
their  ideals ! 

PAUL  CARUS. 

1  For  further  information  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  articles  "Chinese 
Philosophy"  (Religion  of  Science  Library.  No.  30)  and  "The  Authenticity  of 
the  Tao  Teh  King"  (The  Monist,  Vol.  XI.,  pp.  574-601). 


THE  OLD  PHILOSOPHER'S  CANON 
ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE 


SZE-MA-CH'IEN  ON  LAO-TZE. 

T  AO-TZE  was  born  in  the  hamlet  Ch'ii-Jhren 
\^  (Good  Man's  Bend),  Li-Hsiang  (Grinding 
County),  K'u-Hien  (Thistle  District),  of  Ch'u  (Bram- 
ble land).  His  family  was  the  Li  gentry  (Li  meaning 
Plum).  His  proper  name  was  Er  (Ear),  his  post- 
humous title  Po-Yang  (Prince  Positive),  his  appella- 
tion Tan  (Long-lobed).  In  Cho  he  was  in  charge  of 
the  secret  archives  as  state  historian. 

Confucius  went  to  Cho  in  order  to  consult  Lao- 
Tze  on  the  rules  of  propriety. 

[When  Confucius,  speaking  of  propriety,  praised 
reverence  for  the  sages  of  antiquity],  Lao-Tze  said  : 
"The  men  of  whom  you  speak,  Sir,  have,  if  you 
please,  together  with  their  bones  mouldered.  Their 
words  alone  are  still  extant.  If  a  noble  man  finds  his 
time  he  rises,  but  if  he  does  not  find  his  time  he  drifts 
like  a  roving-plant  and  wanders  about.  I  observe 
that  the  wise  merchant  hides  his  treasures  deeply  as 
if  he  were  poor.  The  noble  man  of  perfect  virtue  as- 
sumes an  attitude  as  though  he  were  stupid.  Let  go, 
Sir,  your  proud  airs,  your  many  wishes,  your  affecta- 
tion and  exaggerated  plans.  All  this  is  of  no  use  to 


96  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

you,  Sir.  That  is  what  I  have  to  communicate  to 
you,  and  that  is  all." 

Confucius  left.  [Unable  to  understand  the  basic 
idea  of  Lao-Tze's  ethics],  he  addressed  his  disciples, 
saying :  "I  know  that  the  birds  can  fly,  I  know  that 
the  fishes  can  swim,  I  know  that  the  wild  animals 
can  run.  For  the  running,  one  could  make  nooses ; 
for  the  swimming,  one  could  make  nets  ;  for  the  flying, 
one  could  make  arrows.  As  to  the  dragon  I  cannot 
know  how  he  can  bestride  wind  and  clouds  when  he 
heavenwards  rises.  To-day  I  saw  Lao-Tze.  Is  he 
perhaps  like  the  dragon?" 

Lao-Tze  practised  reason  and  virtue.  His  doc- 
trine aims  in  self-concealment  and  namelessness. 

Lao-Tze  resided  in  Cho  most  of  his  life.  When  he 
foresaw  the  decay  of  Cho,  he  departed  and  came  to 
the  frontier.  The  custom  house  officer  Yin-Hi  said : 
"Sir,  since  it  pleases  you  to  retire,  I  request  you  for 
my  sake  to  write  a  book." 

Thereupon  Lao-Tze  wrote  a  book  of  two  parts 
consisting  of  five  thousand  and  odd  words,  in  which 
he  discussed  the  concepts  of  reason  and  virtue.  Then 
he  departed. 

No  one  knows  where  he  died. 


THE  OLD  PHILOSOPHER'S  CANON  ON 
REASON  AND  VIRTUE. 

I. 

i.  REASON'S  REALISATION. 

0<^H&,, 

'T^HE  REASON  that  can  be  reasoned  is  not  the 
-1-  eternal  Reason.  The  name  that  can  be  named  is 
not  the  eternal  name.  The  Unnameable  is  of  heaven 
and  earth  the  beginning.  The  Nameable  becomes 
of  the  ten  thousand  things  the  mother.  Therefore  it 
is  said : 

"He  who  desireless  is  found 
The  spiritual  of  the  world  will  sound. 
But  he  who  by  desire  is  bound 
Sees  the  mere  shell  of  things  around." 

These  two  things  are  the  same  in  source  but  dif- 
ferent in  name.  Their  sameness  is  called  a  mystery. 
Indeed,  it  is  the  mystery  of  mysteries.  Of  all  spirit- 
uality it  is  the  door. 

2.  SELF-CULTURE. 

When  in  the  world  all  understand  beauty  to  be 
beauty,  then  only  ugliness  appears.  When  all  un- 


98  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

derstand  goodness  to  be  goodness,  then  only  badness 
appears.     For 

"To  be  and  not  to  be  are  mutually  conditioned. 
The  difficult,  the  easy,  are  mutually  definitioned. 
The  long,  the  short,  are  mutually  exhibitioned. 
Above,  below,  are  mutually  cognitioned. 
The  sound,  the  voice,  are  mutually  coalitioned. 
Before  and  after  are  mutually  positioned." 
Therefore  the  holy  man  abides  by  non-assertion 
in  his  affairs  and  conveys  by  silence  his  instruction. 
When  the  ten  thousand  things  arise,  verily,  he  refuses 
them   not.     He  quickens  but  owns   not.      He  works 
but  claims  not.      Merit  he  accomplishes,  but  he  does 
not  dwell  on  it. 

"Since  he  does  not  dwell  on  it 
It  will  never  leave  him." 

3.  KEEPING  THE  PEOPLE  QUIET. 

.Not  exalting  worth  keeps  people  from  rivalry. 
Not  prizing  what  is  difficult  to  obtain  keeps  people 
from  committing  theft.  Not  contemplating  what 
kindles  desire  keeps  the  heart  unconfused.  There- 
fore the  holy  man  when  He  governs  empties  the  peo- 
ples hearts  but  fills  their  souls.  He  weakens  their 
ambitions  but  strengthens  their  backbones.  Always 
he  keeps  the  people  unsophisticated  and  without  de- 
sire. He  causes  that  the  crafty  do  not  dare  to  act. 
When  he  acts  with  non-assertion  there  is  nothing  un- 
governed. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  99 

4.  SOURCELESS. 

Reason  is  empty,  but  its  use  is  inexhaustible.  In 
its  profundity,  verily,  it  resembleth  the  father  of  the 
ten  thousand  things. 

"It  will  blunt  its  own  sharpness, 
Will  its  tangles  adjust; 
It  will  dim  its  own  radiance 
And  be  one  with  its  dust." 

Oh,  how  calm  it  seems  to  remain  !  I  know  not 
whose  son  it  is.  Before  the  Lord,  Reason  takes  pre- 
cedence. 

5.  THE  FUNCTION  OF  EMPTINESS. 

Heaven  and  earth  exhibit  no  benevolence  ;  to  them 
the  ten  thousand  things  are  like  straw  dogs.  The 
holy  man  exhibits  no  benevolence  ;  to  him  the  hun- 
dred families  are  like  straw  dogs. 

Is  not  the  space  between  heaven  and  earth  like 
unto  a  bellows  ?     It  is  empty;  yet  it  collapses  not.    It 
moves,  and  more  and  more  comes  forth.      [But] 
"How  soon  exhausted  is 
A  gossip's  fulsome  talk  ! 
And  should  we  not  prefer 
On  the  middle  path  to  walk?" 

6.   THE  COMPLETION  OF  FORM. 

"The  valley  spirit  not  expires, 
Mysterious  mother  'tis  called  by  the  sires 


ioo  LAO-TZE'.S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

The  mysterious  mother's  door,  to  boot, 
Is  called  of  Heaven  and  earth  the  root. 
Forever  and  aye  it  seems  to  endure 
And  its  use  is  without  effort  sure." 

7.  DIMMING  RADIANCE. 

Heaven  endures  and  earth  is  lasting.  And  why 
can  heaven  and  earth  endure  and  be  lasting?  Because 
they  do  not  live  for  themselves.  On  that  account  can 
they  endure. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  puts  his  person  behind  and 
his  person  comes  to  the  front.  He  surrenders  his  per- 
son and  his  person  is  preserved.  Is  it  not  because  he 
seeks  not  his  own?  For  that  reason  he  can  accom- 
plish his  own. 

8.   EASY  BY  NATURE. 

Superior  goodness  resembleth  water.  Water  in 
goodness  benefiteth  the  ten  thousand  things,  yet  it 
quarreleth  not.  Because  it  dwells  in  [lowliness]  the 
place  which  the  multitude  of  men  shun,  therefore  it  is 
near  unto  the  eternal  Reason. 

For  a  dwelling  goodness  chooses  the  level.  For  a 
heart  goodness  chooses  commotion.  When  giving, 
goodness  chooses  benevolence.  In  words,  goodness 
chooses  faith.  In  government  goodness  chooses  or- 
der. In  business  goodness  chooses  ability.  In  its 
motion  goodness  chooses  timeliness.  It  quarreleth 
not.  Therefore,  it  is  not  rebuked. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  IOI 

g.  PRACTISING  PLACIDITY. 

Holding  and  keeping  full,  had  that  not  better  be 
left  alone?  Handling  and  keeping  sharp,  can  that 
wear  long?  If  gold  and  jewels  fill  the  hall  no  one  can 
protect  it. 

Rich  and  high  but  proud,  brings  about  its  own 
misfortune.  To  accomplish  merit  and  acquire  fame, 
then  to  withdraw  oneself,  that  is  Heaven's  Way. 

10.  WHAT  CAN  BE  DONE. 
>'  *-J 

He  who  sustains  and  disciplines  his  soul  and  em- 
braces unity  cannot  be  deranged.  Through  attention 
to  his  vitality  and  inducing  tenderness  he  can  become 
like  a  little  child.  By  purifying,  by  cleansing  and 
profound  intuition  he  can  be  free  from  faults. 

In  loving  the  people  and  administering  the  country 
he  can  practise  non-assertion.  Opening  and  closing 
the  gates  of  heaven  he  can  be  like  a  mother-bird : 
bright,  and  white,  and  penetrating  the  four  quarters, 
he  can  be  unsophisticated.  He  quickens  them  and 
feeds  them.  He  quickens  but  owns  not.  He  acts  but 
claims  not.  He  excels  but  rules  not.  This  is  called 
profound  virtue. 

ii.  THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  NON-EXISTENT. 

Thirty  spokes  unite  in  one  nave  and  on  that  which 

is  non-existent  [on  the  hole  in  the  nave]  depends  the 

wheel's  utility.     Clay  is  moulded  into  a  vessel  and  on 

that  which  is  non-existent  [on  its  hollowness]  depends 


IDS  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

the  vessel's  utility.  By  cutting  out  doors  and  win- 
dows we  build  a  house  and  on  that  which  is  non-ex- 
istent [on  the  empty  space]  depends  the  house's 
utility. 

Therefore,  when  the  existence  of  things  is  profit- 
able, it  is  the  non-existent  in  them  which  renders 
them  useful. 

12.   ABSTAINING  FROM  DESIRE. 
"The  five  colors  the  human  eye  will  blind, 
The  five  notes  the  human  ear  will  rend. 
The  five  tastes  the  human  mouth  offend." 

"  Racing  and  hunting  will  human  hearts  turn  mad, 
Objects  of  prize  make  human  conduct  bad." 

Therefore  the  holy  man  attends  to  the  inner  and 
not  to  the  outer.  He  abandons  the  latter  and  chooses 
the  former. 

13.   LOATHING  SHAME. 
"Favor  and  disgrace  bode  awe. 
Esteeming  the  body  bodes  great  trouble." 

What  is  meant  by  "favor  and  digrace  bode  awe?" 

Favor  humiliates.  Its  gain  bodes  awe;  its  loss 
bodes  awe.  This  is  meant  by  "favor  and  disgrace 
bode  awe." 

What  is  meant  by  "Esteeming  the  body  bodes 
great  trouble  "  ? 

I  have  trouble  because  I  have  a  body.  When  I 
have  no  body,  what  trouble  remains  ? 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  IO3 

Therefore,  if  one  administers  the  empire  as  he 
cares  for  his  body,  he  can  be  entrusted  with  the  em- 
pire. 

14.  PRAISING  THE  MYSTERIOUS. 

We  look  at  Reason  and  do  not  see  it ;  its  name  is 
Colorless.  We  listen  to  Reason  and  do  not  hear  it ; 
its  name  is  Soundless.  We  grope  for  Reason  and  do 
not  grasp  it ;  its  name  is  Incorporeal. 

These  three  things  cannot  further  be  analysed. 
Thus  they  are  combined  and  conceived  as  a  unity 
which  on  its  surface  is  not  clear  but  in  its  depth  not 
obscure. 

Forever  and  aye  Reason  remains  unnamable,  and 
again  and  again  it  returns  home  to  non-existence. 
This  is  called  the  form  of  the  formless,  the  image  of 
the  imageless.  This  is  called  transcendentally  ab- 
struse. 

In  front  its  beginning  is  not  seen.  In  the  rear  its 
end  is  not  seen. 

By  holding  fast  to  the  Reason  of  the  ancients,  the 
present  is  mastered  and  the  origin  of  the  past  under- 
stood. This  is  called  Reason's  clue. 

15.  THE  REVEALERS  OF  VIRTUE. 

Those  of  yore  who  have  succeeded  in  becoming 
masters  are  subtile,  spiritual,  profound,  and  penetrat- 
ing. On  account  of  their  profundity  they  cannot  be 
understood.  Because  they  cannot  be  understood, 
therefore  I  endeavor  to  make  them  intelligible. 


104  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

How  they  are  cautious!  Like  men  in  winter  cros- 
sing a  river.  How  reluctant!  Like  men  fearing  in 
the  four  quarters  their  neighbors.  How  reserved! 
They  behave  like  guests.  How  elusive!  They  re- 
semble ice  when  melting.  How  simple!  They  re- 
semble unseasoned  wood.  How  empty!  They  resem- 
ble the  valley.  How  obscure!  They  resemble  troubled 
waters. 

Who  by  quieting  can  gradually  render  muddy 
waters  clear?  Who  by  stirring  can  gradually  quicken 
the  still? 

He  who  keeps  this  Reason  is  not  anxious  to  be 
filled.  Since  he  is  not  filled,  therefore  he  can  grow 
old ;  and  without  reform  he  is  perfect. 

16.   RETURNING  TO  THE  ROOT. 

By  attaining  vacuity's  completion  we  guard  our 
tranquillity  truthfully. 

All  the  ten  thousand  things  arise,  and  I  see  them 
return.  Now  they -bloom  in  bloom,  but  each  one 
homeward  returneth  to  its  root. 

€ Returning  to  the  root  means  rest.  It  signifies  the 
return  according  to  destiny.  Return  according  to  des- 
tiny means  the  eternal.  Knowing  the  eternal  means 
enlightenment.  Not  knowing  the  eternal  causes  pas- 
sions to  rise  ;  and  that  is  evil. 

Knowing  the  eternal  renders  comprehensive.  Com- 
prehensive means  broad.  Broad  means  royal.  Royal 
means  heavenly.  Heavenly  means  Reason.  Reason 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  105 

means  lasting.     Thus  the  decay  of  the  body  implies 
no  danger. 

17.  SIMPLICITY  IN  HABITS. 

Where  great  sages  are  [in  power],  the  subjects  do 
not  notice  their  existence.  Where  there  are  lesser 
sages,  the  people  are  attached  to  them  ;  they  praise 
them.  Where  still  lesser  ones  are,  the  people  fear 
them  ;  and  where  still  lesser  ones  are,  the  people  des- 
pise them.  For  it  is  said  : 

"If  your  faith  be  insufficient,  verily,  you  will  re- 
ceive no  faith." 

How  reluctantly  sages  consider  their  words!  Merit 
they  accomplish  ;  deeds  they  perform ;  and  the  hun- 
dred families  think:  "We  are  independent;  we  are 
free." 

18.     THE  PALLIATION  OF  VULGARITY. 

When  the  great  Reason  is  obliterated,  we  have 
benevolence  and  justice.  Prudence  and  circumspec- 
tion appear,  and  we  have  much  hypocrisy.  When 
family  relations  no  longer  harmonise,  we  have  filial 
piety  and  paternal  love.  When  the  country  and  the 
clans  decay  through  disorder,  we  have  loyalty  and 
allegiance. 

19.  RETURNING  TO  SIMPLICITY. 

Abandon  your  saintliness;  put  away  your  prudence; 
and  the  people  will  gain  a  hundred-fold! 

Abandon  your  benevolence;  put  away  your  justice; 


106  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

and  the  people  will  return  to  filial  devotion  and  pa- 
ternal love! 

fckrj.c*^"-'  - 

Abandon  your  scheming;  put  away  your  gains; 
and  thieves  and  robbers  will  no  longer  exist. 

These  are  the  three  things  for  which  we  deem  cul- 
ture insufficient.  Therefore  it  is  said  : 

"Hold  fast  to  that  which  will  endure, 
Show  thyself  simple,  preserve  thee  pure, 
Thy  own  keep  small,  thy  desires  poor. " 

20.  DIFFERENT  FROM  THE  VULGAR. 

Abandon  learnedness,  and  you  have  no  vexation. 
The  "yes"  compared  with  the  "yea,"  how  little  do 
they  differ!  But  the  good  compared  with  the  bad, 
how  much  do  they  differ! 

If  what  the  people  dread  cannot  be  made  dread- 
less,  there  will  be  desolation,  alas !  and  verily,  there 
will  be  no  end  of  it. 

The  multitude  of  men  are  happy,  so  happy,  as 
though  celebrating  a  great  feast.  They  are  as  though 
in  springtime  ascending  a  tower.  I  alone  remain 
quiet,  alas!  like  one  that  has  not  yet  received  an  en- 
couraging omen.  I  am  like  unto  a  babe  that  does 
not  yet  smile. 

Forlorn  am  I,  O,  so  forlorn !  It  appears  that  I 
have  no  place  whither  I  may  return  home. 

The  multitude  of  men  all  have  plenty  and  I  alone 
appear  empty.  Alas  !  I  am  a  man  whose  heart  is 
foolish. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  107 

Ignorant  am  I,  O,  so  ignorant !  Common  people 
are  bright,  so  bright,  I  alone  am  dull. 

Common  people  are  smart,  so  smart,  I  alone  am 
confused,  so  confused. 

Desolate  am  I,  alas !  like  the  sea.  Adrift,  alas ! 
like  one  who  has  no  place  where  to  stay. 

The  multitude  of  men  all  possess  usefulness.  I 
alone  am  awkward  and  a  rustic  too.  I  alone  differ 
from  others,  but  I  prize  seeking  sustenance  from  our 
mother. 

21.  EMPTYING  THE  HEART. 

"Vast  virtue's  form 
Follows  Reason's  norm. 
And  Reason's  nature 
Is  vague  and  eluding. 
How  eluding  and  vague 
All  types  including. 
How  vague  and  eluding  ! 
All  beings  including. 
How  deep,  and  how  obscure. 
It  harbors  the  spirit  pure, 
Whose  truth  is  ever  sure, 
Whose  faith  abides  for  aye 
From  of  yore  until  to-day. 
Its  name  does  not  depart. 
Thence  lo  !  all  things  take  start." 

Whereby  do  I  know  that  all  things  start  from  it, 
thus  indeed?  By  [Reason]  itself! 


io8  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

22.  HUMILITY'S  INCREASE. 

"The  deficient  will  recuperate. 

And  the  crooked  shall  be  straight. 

The  empty  find  their  fill. 

The  worn  with  strength  will  thrill. 

Who  have  little  shall  receive. 

Who  have  much  will  have  to  grieve." 
Therefore  the  holy  man  embraces  unity  and  be- 
comes for  all  the  world  a  model.     He  is  not  self-dis 
playing,  and  thus  he  shines.   He  is  not  self-approving, 
and  thus  he  is  distinguished.     He  is  not  self-praising, 
and  thus  he  acquires  merit.    He  is  not  self-glorifying 
and  thus  he  excels.     Since  he  does  not  quarrel,  there- 
fore no  one  in  the  world  can  quarrel  with  him. 

The  saying  of  the  ancients:  "The  deficient  will 
recuperate,"  is  it  in  any  way  vainly  spoken?  Verily, 
they  will  recuperate  and  return  home. 

23.  EMPTINESS  AND  NON-EXISTENCE. 

To  be  taciturn  is  the  natural  way. 

A  hurricane  does  not  outlast  the  morning.  A  cloud- 
burst does  not  outlast  the  day.  Who  causes  these 
events  but  heaven  and  earth?  If  even  heaven  and 
earth  cannot  be  unremitting,  will  not  man  be  much 
less  so? 

Those  who  pursue  their  business  in  Reason,  men 
of  Reason,  associate  in  Reason.  Those  who  pursue 
their  business  in  virtue  associate  in  virtue.  Those 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  IOQ 

who  pursue  their  business  in  ill  luck  associate  in  ill 
luck.  When  men  associate  in  Reason,  Reason  makes 
them  glad  to  find  companions.  When  men  associate 
in  virtue,  virtue  makes  them  glad  to  find  companions. 
When  men  associate  in  ill  luck,  ill  luck  makes  them 
glad  to  find  companipns. 
"  He  whose  faith  is  insufficient  shall  not  find  faith." 

24.  TROUBLES  IN   [THE  EAGERNESS  TO  ACQUIRE] 
MERIT. 

A  man  on  tiptoe  cannot  stand.  A  man  astride  can- 
not walk.  A  self-displaying  man  cannot  shine.  A 
self-approving  man  cannot  be  distinguished.  A  self- 
praising  man  cannot  acquire  merit.  A  self-glorying 
man  cannot  excel.  Before  the  tribunal  of  Reason  he 
is  like  offal  of  food  and  like  an  excrescence  in  the  sys- 
tem which  all  people  are  likely  to  detest.  Therefore, 
one  who  has  Reason  does  not  rely  on  him. 

25.  IMAGING  THE  MYSTERIOUS. 

There  is  a  Being  wondrous  and  complete.  Ere 
heaven  and  earth,  it  grew.  How  calm  it  is  !  How 
spiritual!  Alone  it  standeth,  and  it  changeth  not; 
around  it  moveth,  and  it  suffereth  not ;  yet  therefore 
can  it  be  the  mother  of  the  world. 

Its  name  I  know  not,  but  its  nature  I  call  Rea- 
son. 

Constrained  to  give  a  name,  I  call  it  Great.  The 
Great  I  call  Departing,  and  the  Departing  I  call  far 
away.  The  Far-away  I  call  the  Coming  Home. 


no  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

The  saying  goes:  "Reason  is  great,  Heaven  is 
great,  Earth  is  great,  and  Royalty  also  is  great.  [There 
are  four  things  in  the  world  that  are  great,  and  Roy- 
alty is  one  of  them.]" 

Man's  standard  is  the  Earth.  The  earth's  standard 
is  Heaven.  Heaven's  standard  is  Reason.  Reason's 
standard  is  intrinsic. 

26.  THE  VIRTUE  OF  DIGNITY. 

The  heavy  is  of  the  light  the  root,  and  rest  is  mo- 
tion's  master. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  in  his  daily  walk  does  not 
depart  from  dignity.  Although  he  may  have  mag- 
nificent sights,  he  calmly  sits  with  liberated  mind. 

But  how  is  it  when  the  master  of  the  ten  thousand 
chariots  in  his  personal  conduct  is  too  light  for  the 
empire?  If  he  is  too  light  he  will  lose  his  vassals.  If 
he  is  too  passionate  he  will  lose  the  throne. 

27.  THE  FUNCTION  OF  SKILL. 
"Good  travellers  leave  not  trace  nor  track, 

Good  speakers,  in  logic  show  no  lack, 
Good  counters  need  no  counting  rack. 

"Good  lockers  bolting  bars  need  not, 

Yet  none  their  locks  can  loose. 
Good  binders  need  not  string  nor  knot, 

Yet  none  unties  their  noose." 

Therefore  the  holy  man  is  always  a  good  saviour 
of  men,  for  there  are  no  outcast  people.  He  is  always 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  Ill 

a  good  saviour  of  things,  for  there  are  no  outcast 
things.     This  is  called  concealed  enlightenment. 

Therefore  the  good  man  is  the  bad  man's  instruc- 
tor, while  the  bad  man  is  the  good  man's  capital.  He 
who  does  not  esteem  his  instructor,  and  he  who  does 
not  love  his  capital,  although  he  may  be  prudent,  is 
greatly  disconcerted.  This  I  call  significant  spiritu- 
ality. 

28.  RETURNING  TO  SIMPLICITY. 

"Who  his  manhood  shows 
And  his  womanhood  knows 
Becomes  the  empire's  river. 
Is  he  the  empire's  river, 
He  will  from  virtue  never  deviate, 
And  home  he  turneth  to  a  child's  estate. 

"Who  his  brightness  shows 
And  his  blackness  knows 
Becomes  the  empire's  model. 
Is  he  the  empire's  model, 
Of  virtue  never  he'll  be  destitute,    • 
And  home  he  turneth  to  the  absolute. 

"Who  knows  his  fame 
And  guards  his  shame 
Becomes  the  empire's  valley. 
Is  he  the  empire's  valley, 
For  e'er  his  virtue  will  sufficient  be, 
And  home  he  turneth  to  simplicity." 


ii2  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

Simplicity,  when  scattered,  becomes  a  vessel  of 
usefulness.  The  holy  man,  by  using  it,  becomes  the 
chief  leader;  and  truly,  a  great  principle  will  never 
do  harm. 

29.  NON-ASSERTION. 

When  one  desires  to  take  in  hand  the  empire  and 
make  it,  I  see  him  not  succeed.  The  empire  is  a  di- 
vine vessel  which  cannot  be  made.  One  who  makes 
it,  mars  it.  One  who  takes  it,  loses  it.  And  it  is 
said  of  beings  : 

"Some  are  obsequious,  others  move  boldly, 
Some  breathe  warmly,  others  coldly, 
Some  are  strong  and  others  weak, 
Some  rise  proudly,  others  sneak. " 

Therefore  the  holy  man  abandons  pleasure,  he 
abandons  extravagance,  he  abandons  indulgence. 

30.  BE  CHARY  OF  WAR. 

He  who  with  Reason  assists  the  master  of  man- 
kind will  not  with  arms  strengthen  the  empire.  His 
methods  [are  such  as]  invite  requital. 

Where  armies  are  quartered  briars  and  thorns 
grow.  Great  wars  unfailingly  are  followed  by  famines. 
A  good  man  acts  resolutely  and  then  stops.  He  ven- 
tures not  to  take  by  force. 

Be  resolute  but  not  boastful;  resolute  but  not 
haughty;  resolute  but  not  arrogant ;  resolute  because 
you  cannot  avoid  it ;  resolute  but  not  violent. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  113 

Things  thrive  and  then  grow  old.  This  is  called 
un-Reason.  Un-Reason  soon  ceases. 

31.  QUELLING  WAR. 

Even  when  successful,  arms  are  unblest  among 
tools,  and  people  had  better  shun  them.  Therefore 
he  who  has  Reason  does  not  rely  on  them. 

The  superior  man  when  residing  at  home  honors 
the  left.  When  using  arms,  he  honors  the  right. 
Arms  are  unblest  among  tools  and  not  the  superior 
man's  tools.  Only  when  it  is  unavoidable  he  uses 
them.  Peace  and  quietude  he  holds  high.  He  con- 
quers but  rejoices  not.  Rejoicing  at  a  conquest  means 
to  enjoy  the  slaughter  of  men.  He  who  enjoys  the 
slaughter  of  men  will  most  assuredly  not  obtain  his 
will  in  the  empire. 

32.  THE  VIRTUE  OF  HOLINESS. 

Reason,  in  its  eternal  aspect,  is  unnamable. 

Although  its  simplicity  seems  insignificant,  the 
whole  world  does  not  dare  to  suppress  it.  If  princes 
and  kings  could  keep  it,  the  ten  thousand  things  would 
of  themselves  pay  homage.  Heaven  and  earth  would 
unite  in  dripping  sweet  dew,  and  the  people  with  no 
one  to  command  them  would  of  themselves  be  right- 
eous. 

But  as  soon  as  Reason  creates  order,  it  becomes 
nameable.  Whenever  the  nameable  in  its  turn  ac- 
quires existence,  one  learns  to  know  when  to  stop. 
By  knowing  when  to  stop,  one  avoids  danger. 


114  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KINO. 

To  illustrate  Reason's  relation  to  the  world  we 
compare  it  to  streamlets  and  creeks  in  their  course  to- 
wards great  rivers  and  the  ocean. 

33.  THE  VIRTUE  OF  DISCRIMINATION. 

One  who  knows  others  is  clever,  but  one  who 
knows  himself  is  enlightened. 

One  who  conquers  others  is  powerful,  but  one  who 
conquers  himself  is  mighty. 

One  who  knows  sufficiency  is  rich. 

One  who  pushes  with  vigor  has  will,  one  who  loses 
not  his  place  endures.  One  who  may  die  but  will  not 
perish,  has  life  everlasting. 

34.  TRUST  IN  ITS  PERFECTION. 

How  all-pervading  is  the  great  Reason  !  It  can  be 
on  the  left  and  it  can  be  on  the  right.  The  ten  thou- 
sand things  depend  upon  it  for  their  life,  and  it  refuses 
them  not.  When  its  merit  is  accomplished  it  assumes 
not  the  name.  Lovingly  it  nourishes  the  ten  thousand 
things  and  plays  not  the  lord.  Ever  desireless  it  can 
be  classed  with  the  small.  The  ten  thousand  things 
return  home  to  it.  It  plays  not  the  lord.  It  can  be 
classed  with  the  great. 

Therefore,  the  holy  man  unto  death  does  not  make 
himself  great  and  can  thus  accomplish  his  greatness. 

35.  THE  VIRTUE  OF  BENEVOLENCE. 
"Who  holdeth  fast  to  the  great  Form, 
Of  him  the  world  will  come  in  quest : 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  115 

For  there  they  never  meet  with  harm, 
But  find  contentment,  comfort,  rest." 
Music  with  dainties  makes  the  passing  stranger 
stop.     But  Reason,  when  coming  from  the  mouth, 
how  tasteless  is  it !     It  has  no  flavor.     When  looked 
at,  there  is  not  enough  to  be  seen ;  when  listened  to, 
there  is  not  enough  to  be  heard.     However,  its  use  is 
inexhaustible. 

36.  THE  SECRET'S  EXPLANATION. 

That  which  is  about  to  contract  has  surely  been 
[first]  expanded.  That  which  is  about  to  weaken  has 
surely  been  [first]  strengthened.  That  which  is  about 
to  fall  has  surely  been  [first]  raised.  That  which  is 
about  to  be  despoiled  has  surely  been  [first]  endowed. 

This  is  an  explanation  of  the  secret  that  the  tender 
and  the  weak  conquer  the  hard  and  the  strong. 

[Therefore  beware  of  hardness  and  strength  :]  As 
the  fish  should  not  escape  from  the  deep,  so  with  the 
country's  sharp  tools  the  people  should  not  become 
acquainted. 

37.  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Reason  always  practises  non-assertion,  and  there 
is  nothing  that  remains  undone. 

If  princes  and  kings  could  keep  Reason,  the  ten 
thousand  things  would  of  themselves  be  reformed. 
While  being  reformed  they  would  yet  be  anxious  to 
stir  ;  but  I  would  restrain  them  by  the  simplicity  of 
the  Ineffable. 


n6  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

"The  simplicity  of  the  unexpressed 
Will  purify  the  heart  of  lust. 
Where  there's  no  lust  there  will  be  rest, 
And  all  the  world  will  thus  be  blest." 

II. 

38.  DISCOURSING  ON  VIRTUE. 

Superior  virtue  is  un-virtue.  Therefore  it  has 
virtue.  Inferior  virtue  never  loses  sight  of  virtue. 
Therefore  it  has  no  virtue.  Superior  virtue  is  non- 
assertion  and  without  pretension.  Inferior  virtue  as- 
serts and  makes  pretensions. 

Superior  benevolence  acts  but  makes  no  preten- 
sions. 

Superior  justice  acts  and  makes  pretensions.  The 
superior  propriety  acts  and  when  no  one  responds  to 
it,  it  stretches  its  arm  and  enforces  its  rules.  Thus 
one  loses  Reason  and  then  virtue  appears.  One  loses 
virtue  and  then  benevolence  appears.  One  loses  be- 
nevolence and  then  justice  appears.  One  loses  jus- 
tice and  then  propriety  appears.  The  rules  of  pro- 
priety are  the  semblance  of  loyalty  and  faith,  and  the 
beginning  of  disorder. 

Traditionalism  is  the  [mere]  flower  of  Reason,  but 
of  ignorance  the  beginning. 

Therefore  a  great  organiser  abides  by  the  solid 
and  dwells  not  in  the  external.  He  abides  in  the 
fruit  and  dwells  not  in  the  flower.  Therefore  he  dis- 
cards the  latter  and  chooses  the  former. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  117 

39.  THE  ROOT  OF  ORDER. 
From  of  old  these  things  have  obtained  oneness : 

"  Heaven  through  oneness  has  become  pure. 
Earth  through  oneness  can  endure. 
Minds  through  oneness  their  souls  procure. 
Valleys  through  oneness  repletion  secure. 

"  All  creatures  through  oneness  to  life   have   been 

called. 

And   kings   were   through   oneness   as   models   in- 
stalled." 

Such  is  the  result  of  oneness. 

"  Were  heaven  not  pure  it  might  be  rent 
Were  earth  not  stable  it  might  be  bent. 
Were  minds  not  ensouled  they'd  be  impotent. 
Were  valleys  not  filled  they'd  soon  be  spent. 

"  When  creatures  are  lifeless  who  can  their  death 

prevent  ? 

Are  kings  not  models,  but  on  highness  bent, 
Their  fall,  forsooth,  is  imminent." 

Thus,  the  noble  come  from  the  commoners  as  their 
root,  and  the  high  rest  upon  the  lowly  as  their  foun- 
dation. Therefore,  princes  and  kings  call  themselves 
orphaned,  lonely,  and  unworthy.  Is  this  not  because 
they  [representing  the  unity  of  the  commoners]  take 
lowliness  as  their  root  ? 

The  several  parts  of  a  carriage  are  not  a  carriage. 


Il8  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

Those  who  have  become  a  unity  are  neither  anx- 
ious to  be  praised  with  praise  like  a  gem,  nor  dis- 
dained with  disdain  like  a  stone. 

40.  AVOIDING  ACTIVITY. 

"Homeward  is  Reason's  course, 
Weakness  is  Reason's  force." 

Heaven  and  earth  and  the  ten  thousand  things 
come  from  existence,  but  existence  comes  from  non-^ 
existence. 

41.  SAMENESS  IN  DIFFERENCE. 

When  a  superior  scholar  hears  of  Reason  he  en- 
deavors to  practise  it.  When  an  average  scholar  hears 
of  Reason  he  will  sometimes  keep  it  and  sometimes 
lose  it.  When  an  inferior  scholar  hears  of  Reason  he 
will  greatly  ridicule  it.  Were  it  not  thus  ridiculed,  it 
would  as  Reason  be  insufficient.  Therefore  the  poet 
says  : 

"  The  reason-enlightened  seem  dark  and  black, 
The  reason-advanced  seem  going  back, 
The  reason-straight-levelled  seem  rugged  and  slack. 

"  The  high  in  virtue  resemble  a  vale, 
The  purely  white  in  shame  must  quail, 
The  staunchest  virtue  seems  to  fail. 

"  The  solidest  virtue  seems  not  alert, 
The  purest  chastity  seems  pervert, 
The  greatest  square  will  Tightness  desert. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE. 

"  The  largest  vessel  is  not  yet  complete, 
The  loudest  sound  is  not  speech  replete, 
The  greatest  form  has  no  shape  concrete." 

Reason  so  long  as  it  remains  hidden  is  unname- 
able.  Yet  Reason  alone  is  good  for  imparting  and 
completing. 

42.  REASON'S  MODIFICATIONS. 

Reason  begets  unity;  unity  begets  duality;  duality 
begets  trinity ;  and  trinity  begets  the  ten  thousand 
things.  The  ten  thousand  things  are  sustained  by 
YIN  [the  negative  principle];  they  are  encompassed 
by  YANG  [the  positive  principle],  and  the  immaterial 
CH'I  [the  breath  of  life]  renders  them  harmonious. 

That  which  the  people  find  odious,  to  be  orphaned, 
lonely,  and  unworthy,  kings  and  princes  select  as  their 
titles.  Thus,  on  the  one  hand,  loss  implies  gain,  and 
on  the  other  hand,  gain  implies  loss. 

What  others  have  taught  I  teach  also.  The  strong 
and  aggressive  do  not  die  a  natural  death  ;  but  I  shall 
expound  the  doctrine's  foundation. 

43.  ITS  UNIVERSAL  APPLICATION. 

The  world's  weakest  overcomes  the  world's  hard- 
est. Non-existence  enters  into  the  impenetrable. 
Thereby  I  comprehend  of  non-assertion  the  advan- 
tage. Of  silence  the  lesson,  of  non-assertion  the  ad- 
vantage, there  are  few  in  the  world  who  obtain  them. 


i2o  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

44.  SETTING  UP  PRECEPTS. 
"Name  or  person,  which  is  more  near? 
Person  or  fortune,  which  is  more  dear? 
Gain  or  loss,  which  is  more  sear  ? 

"Extreme  dotage  leadeth  to  squandering, 
Hoarded  wealth  inviteth  plundering. 

"Who  is  content  incurs  no  humiliation, 
Who  knows  when  to  stop  risks  no  vitiation. 
Forever  lasteth  his  duration. " 

45.  GREATEST  VIRTUE. 
"The  greatest  perfection  seems  imperfect, 
But  its  work  undecaying  remaineth. 
The  greatest  fulness  is  emptiness  checked, 
But  its  work  's  not  exhausted  nor  waneth." 

"The  straightest  line  resembleth  a  curve; 
The  greatest  sage  as  apprentice  will  serve  ; 
Most  eloquent  speakers  will  stammer  and  swerve.' 

Motion  conquers  cold.     Quietude  conquers  heat 
Purity  and  clearness  are  the  world's  standard. 

46.   MODERATION  OF  DESIRE. 

When  the  world  possesses  Reason,  race  horses  are 
reserved  for  hauling  dung.  When  the  world  is  with- 
out Reason,  war  horses  are  bred  in  the  common. 

No  greater  sin  than  yielding  to  desire.  No  greater 
misery  than  discontent.  No  greater  calamity  than 
acquisitiveness. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  121 

Therefore,  he  who  knows  contentment's  content- 
ment is  always  content. 

47.  VIEWING  THE  DISTANT. 

"Without  passing  out  of  the  gate 
The  world's  course  I  prognosticate. 
Without  peeping  through  the  window 
The  heavenly  Reason  I  contemplate. 
The  further  one  goes, 
The  less  one  knows." 

Therefore  the  holy  man  does  not  travel,  and  yet 
he  has  knowledge.  He  does  not  see  the  things,  and 
yet  he  defines  them.  He  does  not  labor,  and  yet  he 
completes. 

48.  FORGETTING  KNOWLEDGE. 

He  who  seeks  learnedness  will  daily  increase.  He 
who  seeks  Reason  will  daily  diminish.  He  will  dimin- 
ish and  continue  to  diminish  until  he  arrives  at  non- 
assertion.  With  non-assertion  there  is  nothing  that 
he  cannot  achieve.  When  he  takes  the  empire,  it  is 
always  because  he  uses  no  diplomacy.  He  who  uses 
diplomacy  is  not  fit  to  take  the  empire. 

49    TRUST  IN  VIRTUE. 

The  holy  man  possesses  not  a  fixed  heart.  The 
hundred  families'  hearts  he  makes  his  heart. 

The  good  I  meet  with  goodness ;  the  bad  I  also 
meet  with  goodness ;  for  virtue  is  good  [throughout]. 


122  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

The  faithful  I  meet  with  faith;  the  faithless  I  also 
meet  with  faith;  for  virtue  is  faithful  [throughout]. 

The  holy  man  dwells  in  the  world  anxious,  very 
anxious  in  his  dealings  with  the  world.  He  universal- 
ises  his  heart,  and  the  hundred  families  fix  upon  him 
their  ears  and  eyes.  The  holy  man  treats  them  all  as 
children. 

50.  THE  ESTIMATION  OF  LIFE. 

He  who  starts  in  life  will  end  in  death. 

Three  in  ten  are  pursuers  of  life ;  three  in  ten  are 
pursuers  of  death ;  three  in  ten  of  the  men  that  live 
pass  into  the  realm  of  death. 

Now,  what  is  the  reason  ?  It  is  because  they  live 
life's  intensity. 

Indeed,  I  understand  that  one  who  takes  good  care 
of  his  life,  when  travelling  on  land  will  not  fall  in  with 
the  rhinoceros  or  the  tiger.  When  coming  among  sol- 
diers, he  need  not  fear  arms  and  weapons.  The  rhi- 
noceros finds  no  place  where  to  insert  its  horn.  The 
tiger  finds  no  place  where  to  lay  his  claws.  Weapons 
find  no  place  where  to  thrust  their  blades.  The  reason 
is  that  he  does  not  belong  to  the  realm  of  death. 

51.  NURSING  VIRTUE. 

Reason  quickens  all  creatures.  Virtue  feeds  them. 
Reality  shapes  them.  The  forces  complete  them. 
Therefore  among  the  ten  thousand  things  there  is 
none  that  does  not  esteem  Reason  and  honor  virtue. 

Since  the  esteem  of  Reason  and  the  honoring  of 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  123 

virtue  is  by  no  one  commanded,  it  is  forever  sponta- 
neous. Therefore  it  is  said  that  Reason  quickens  all 
creatures,  while  virtue  feeds  them,  raises  them,  nur- 
tures them,  completes  them,  matures  them,  rears 
them,  and  protects  them. 

To  quicken  but  not  to  own,  to  make  but  not  to 
claim,  to  raise  but  not  to  rule,  this  is  called  profound 
virtue. 

52.  RETURNING  TO  THE  ORIGIN. 

When  the  world  takes  its  beginning,  Reason  be- 
comes the  world's  mother. 

When  he  who  knows  his  mother,  knows  in  turn 
that  he  is  her  child,  and  when  he  who  is  quickened 
as  a  child,  in  turn  keeps  to  his  mother,  to  the  end  of 
life,  he  is  not  in  danger.  When  he  closes  his  mouth, 
and  shuts  his  sense-gates,  in  the  end  of  life,  he  will 
encounter  no  trouble ;  but  when  he  opens  his  mouth 
and  meddles  with  affairs,  in  the  end  of  life  he  cannot 
be  saved. 

Who  beholds  his  smallness  is  called  enlightened. 
Who  preserves  his  tenderness  is  called  strong.  Who 
uses  Reason's  light  and  returns  home  to  its  enlighten- 
ment does  not  surrender  his  person  to  perdition.  This 
is  called  practising  the  eternal. 

53.  GAINING  INSIGHT. 

If  I  have  ever  so  little  knowledge,  I  shall  walk 
in  the  great  Reason.  It  is  but  assertion  that  I  must 
fear. 


124  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

The  great  Reason  is  very  plain,  but  people  are 
fond  of  by-paths. 

When  the  palace  is  very  splendid,  the  fields  are 
very  weedy  and  granaries  very  empty. 

To  wear  ornaments  and  gay  clothes,  to  carry  sharp 
swords,  to  be  excessive  in  drinking  and  eating,  to 
have  a  redundance  of  costly  articles,  this  is  the  pride 
of  robbers.  Surely,  this  is  un-Reason! 

54.  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  INTUITION. 
"What  is  well  planted  is  not  uprooted; 

What's  well  preserved  cannot  be  looted!' 

By  sons  and  grandsons  the  sacrificial  celebrations 
shall  not  cease. 

Who  cultivates  Reason  in  his  person,  his  virtue  is 
genuine.  Who  cultivates  it  in  his  house,  his  virtue  is 
overflowing.  Who  cultivates  it  in  his  township,  his 
virtue  is  lasting.  Who  cultivates  it  in  his  country, 
his  virtue  is  abundant.  Who  cultivates  it  in  the  world, 
his  virtue  is  universal. 

Therefore,  by  one's  person  one  tests  persons.  By 
one's  house  one  tests  houses.  By  one's  township  one 
tests  townships.  By  one's  country  one  tests  coun- 
tries. By  one's  world  one  tests  worlds. 

How  do  I  know  that  the  world  is  such?  Through 
Reason. 

55.  THE  SIGNET  OF  THE  MYSTERIOUS. 

He  who  possesses  virtue  in  all  its  solidity  is  like 
unto  a  little  child.  Venomous  reptiles  do  not  sting 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  125 

him,  fierce  beasts  do  not  seize  him.  Birds  of  prey  do 
not  strike  him.  His  bones  are  weak,  his  sinews  ten- 
der, but  his  grasp  is  firm.  He  does  not  yet  know  the 
relation  between  male  and  female,  but  his  virility  is 
strong.  Thus  his  metal  grows  to  perfection.  A  whole 
day  he  might  cry  and  sob  without  growing  hoarse. 
This  shows  the  perfection  of  his  harmony. 

To  know  the  harmonious  is  called  the  eternal.  To 
know  the  eternal  is  called  enlightenment. 

To  increase  life  is  called  a  blessing,  and  heart- 
directed  vitality  is  called  strength,  but  things  vigor- 
ous are  about  to  grow  old  and  I  call  this  un-Reason. 
Un-Reason  soon  ceases  ! 

56.  THE  VIRTUE  OF  THE  MYSTERIOUS. 

One  who  knows  does  not  talk.  One  who  talks 
does  not  know.  Therefore  the  sage  keeps  his  mouth 
shut  and  his  sense-gates  closed. 

"  He  will  blunt  his  own  sharpness, 
His  own  tangles  adjust ; 
He  will  dim  his  own  radiance, 
And  be  one  with  his  dust." 

This  is  called  profound  identification. 

Thus  he  is  inaccessible  to  love  and  also  inacces- 
sible to  enmity.  He  is  inaccessible  to  profit  and  in- 
accessible to  loss.  He  is  also  inaccessible  to  favor 
and  inaccessible  to  disgrace.  Thus  he  becomes  world- 
honored. 


126  LAO-TZE;S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

57.  SIMPLICITY  IN  HABITS. 

With  rectitude  one  governs  the  state  ;  with  crafti- 
ness one  leads  the  army  ;  with  non-diplomacy  one 
takes  the  empire.  How  do  I  know  that  it  is  so  ? 
Through  Reason. 

The  more  restrictions  and  prohibitions  are  in  the 
empire,  the  poorer  grow  the  people.  The  more  weap.-. 
ons  the  people  have,  the  more  troubled  is  the  state. 
The  more  there  is  cunning  and  skill,  the  more  start- 
ling events  will  happen.  The  more  mandates  and 
laws  are  enacted,  the  more  there  will  be  thieves  and 
robbers. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  says  :  I  practise  non-asser- 
tion, and  the  people  of  themselves  reform.  I  love 
quietude,  and  the  people  of  themselves  become  right- 
eous. I  use  no  diplomacy,  and  the  people  of  them- 
selves become  rich.  I  have  no  desire,  and  the  people 
of  themselves  remain  simple. 

58.  ADAPTATION  TO  CHANGE. 

Whose  government  is  unostentatious,  quite  unos- 
tentatious, his  people  will  be  prosperous,  quite  pros- 
perous. Whose  government  is  prying,  quite  prying, 
his  people  will  be  needy,  quite  needy. 

Misery,  alas  !  rests  upon  happiness.  Happiness, 
alas  !  underlies  misery.  But  who  foresees  the  catas- 
trophe ?  It  will  not  be  prevented  ! 

What  is  ordinary  becomes    again   extraordinary. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  127 

What  is  good  becomes  again  unpropitions.  This  be- 
wilders people,  which  happens  constantly  since  times 
immemorial. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  is  square  but  not  sharp, 
strict  but  not  obnoxious,  upright  but  not  restraining, 
bright  but  not  dazzling. 

59.  HOLD  FAST  TO  REASON. 

In  governing  the  people  and  in  attending  to  heaven 
there  is  nothing  like  moderation.  As  to  moderation, 
it  is  said  that  it  must  be  an  early  habit.  If  it  is  an 
early  habit,  it  will  be  richly  accumulated  virtue.  If 
one  has  richly  accumulated  virtue,  then  there  is  noth- 
ing that  cannot  be  overcome.  If  there  is  nothing  that 
cannot  be  overcome,  then  no  one  knows  his  limits.  If 
no  one  knows  his  limits,  one  can  possess  the  country. 
If  one  possesses  the  mother  of  the  country  [viz.,  mod- 
eration], one  can  thereby  last  long.  This  is  called 
having  deep  roots  and  a  firm  stem.  To  long  life  and 
lasting  comprehension  this  is  the  Way. 

60.  HOW  TO  MAINTAIN  ONE'S  PLACE. 

Govern  a  great  country  as  you  would  fry  small 
fish  :  [neither  gut  nor  scale  them]. 

If  with  Reason  the  empire  is  managed,  its  ghosts 
will  not  spook.  Not  only  will  its  ghosts  not  spook, 
but  its  gods  will  not  harm  the  people.  Not  only  will 
its  gods  not  harm  the  people,  but  its  holy  men  will 
also  not  harm  the  people.  Since  neither  will  do  harm, 
therefore  their  virtues  will  be  combined. 


128  LAO  TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

61.   THE  VIRTUE  OF  HUMILITY. 

A  great  state,  one  that  lowly  flows,  becomes  the 
empire's  union,  and  the  empire's  wife.  The  wife  al- 
ways through  quietude  conquers  her  husband,  and  by 
quietude  renders  herself  lowly.  Thus  a  great  state 
through  lowliness  toward  small  states  will  conquer 
the  small  states,  and  small  states  through  lowliness 
toward  great  states  will  conquer  great  states. 

Therefore  some  render  themselves  lowly  for  the 
purpose  of  conquering  ;  others  are  lowly  and  therefore 
conquer. 

A  great  state  desires  no  more  than  to  unite  and 
feed  the  people  ;  a  small  state  desires  no  more  than 
to  devote  itself  to  the  service  of  the  people  ;  but  that 
both  may  obtain  their  wishes,  the  greater  one  must 
stoop. 

62.   PRACTISE  REASON. 

It  is  Reason  that  is  the  ten  thousand  things'  asy- 
lum, the  good  man's  wealth,  the  bad  man's  stay. 

With  beautiful  words  one  can  sell.  With  honest 
conduct  one  can  do  still  more  with  the  people. 

If  a  man  be  bad,  why  should  he  be  thrown  away? 
Therefore,  an  emperor  was  elected  and  three  ministers 
appointed ;  but  better  than  holding  before  one's  face 
the  jade  table  [of  the  ministry]  and  riding  with  four 
horses,  is  sitting  still  and  propounding  the  eternal 
Reason. 

Why  do  the  ancients  prize  this  Reason  ?  Is  it  not, 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  I2g 

say,  because  when  sought  it  is  obtained  and  the  sin- 
ner thereby  can  be  saved?  Therefore  it  is  world- 
honored. 

63.  CONSIDER  BEGINNINGS. 

Assert  non-assertion.  Practise  non-practice.  Taste 
non-taste.  Make  great  the  small.  Make  much  the 
little. 

Requite  hatred  with  goodness. 

Contemplate  a  difficulty  when  it  is  easy.  Manage 
a  great  thing  when  it  is  small. 

The  world's  most  difficult  undertakings  necessarily 
originate  while  easy,  and  the  world's  greatest  under- 
takings necessarily  originate  while  small. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  to  the  end  does  not  ven- 
ture to  play  the  great,  and  thus  he  can  accomplish  his 
greatness.  As  one  who  lightly  promises  rarely  keeps 
his  word,  so  he  to  whom  many  things  are  easy  will 
necessarily  encounter  many  difficulties.  Therefore,  the 
holy  man  regards  everything  as  difficult,  and  thus  to 
the  end  encounters  no  difficulties. 

64.  MIND  THE  INSIGNIFICANT. 

What  is  still  at  rest  is  easily  kept  quiet.  What 
has  not  as  yet  appeared  is  easily  prevented.  What  is 
still  feeble  is  easily  broken.  What  is  still  scant  is 
easily  dispersed. 

Treat  things  before  they  exist.  Regulate  things 
before  disorder  begins.  The  stout  tree  has  originated 
from  a  tiny  rootlet.  A  tower  of  nine  stories  is  raised 


130  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

by  heaping  up  [bricks  of]  clay.  A  thousand  miles' 
journey  begins  with  a  foot. 

He  that  makes  mars.     He  that  grasps  loses. 

The  holy  man  does  not  make  ;  therefore  he  mars 
not.  He  does  not  grasp  ;  therefore  he  loses  not.  The 
people  when  undertaking  an  enterprise  are  always 
near  completion,  and  yet  they  fail.  Remain  careful 
to  the  end  as  in  the  beginning  and  you  will  not  fail  in 
your  enterprise. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  desires  to  be  desireless, 
and  does  not  prize  articles  difficult  to  obtain.  He 
learns,  not  to  be  learned,  and  seeks  a  home  where 
multitudes  of  the  people  pass  by.  He  assists  the  ten 
thousand  things  in  their  natural  development,  but  he 
does  not  venture  to  interfere. 

65.  THE  VIRTUE  OF  SIMPLICITY. 

The  ancients  who  were  well  versed  in  Reason  did 
not  thereby  enlighten  the  people  ;  they  intended 
thereby  to  make  them  simple-hearted. 

If  people  are  difficult  to  govern,  it  is  because  they 
are  too  smart.  To  govern  the  country  with  smartness 
is  the  country's  curse.  To  govern  the  country  without 
smartness  is  the  country's  blessing.  He  who  knows 
these  two  things  is  also  a  model  [like  the  ancients]. 
Always  to  know  the  model  is  called  profound  virtue 

Profound  virtue,  verily,  is  deep.  Verily,  it  is  far- 
reaching.  Verily,  it  is  to  everything  reverse.  But  then 
it  will  procure  great  recognition. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  131 

66.  PUTTING  ONESELF  BEHIND. 

That  rivers  and  oceans  can  of  the  hundred  valleys 
be  kings  is  due  to  their  excelling  in  lowliness.  Thus 
they  can  of  the  hundred  valleys  be  the  kings. 

Therefore  the  holy  man,  when  anxious  to  be  above 
the  people,  must  in  his  words  keep  underneath  them. 
When  anxious  to  lead  the  people,  he  must  with  his 
person  keep  behind  them. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  dwells  above,  but  the  peo- 
ple are  not  burdened.  He  is  ahead,  but  the  people 
suffer  no  harm.  Therefore  the  world  rejoices  in  ex- 
alting him  without  tiring.  Because  he  strives  not,  no 
one  in  the  world  will  strive  with  him. 

67.  THE  THREE  TREASURES. 

All  in  the  world  call  me  great ;  but  I  resemble  the 
unlikely.  Now  a  man  is  great  only  because  he  resem- 
bles the  unlikely.  Did  he  resemble  the  likely,  how 
lasting,  indeed,  would  his  mediocrity  be  ! 

I  have  three  treasures  which  I  preserve  and  treas- 
ure. The  first  is  called  compassion.  The  second  is 
called  economy.  The  third  is  called  not  daring  to 
come  in  the  world  to  the  front.  The  compassionate 
can  be  brave  ;  the  economical  can  be  generous  ;  those 
who  dare  not  come  to  the  front  in  the  world  can  be- 
come perfect  as  chief  vessels. 

Now,  if  people  discard  compassion  and  are  brave ; 


132  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

if  they  discard  economy  and  are  generous  ;  if  they  dis- 
card modesty  and  are  ambitious,  they  will  surely  die 

Now,  the  compassionate  will  in  the  attack  be  vic- 
torious, and  in  the  defence  firm.  Heaven  when  about 
to  save  one  will  with  compassion  protect  him. 

68.  COMPLYING  WITH  HEAVEN. 

He  who  excels  as  a  warrior  is  not  warlike.  He 
who  excels  as  a  fighter  is  not  wrathful.  He  who  ex- 
cels in  conquering  the  enemy  does  not  strive.  He  who 
excels  in  employing  men  is  lowly. 

This  is  called  the  virtue  of  not-striving.  This  is 
called  utilising  men's  ability.  This  is  called  comply- 
ing with  heaven — since  olden  times  the  highest. 

69.   THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MYSTERIOUS. 

A  military  expert  used  to  say:  "I  dare  not  act  as 
host  [who  takes  the  initiative]  but  act  as  guest  [with 
reserve].  I  dare  not  advance  an  inch,  but  I  withdraw 
afoot." 

This  is  called  marching  without  marching,  threat- 
ening without  arms,  charging  without  hostility,  seiz- 
ing without  weapons. 

No  greater  misfortune  than  making  light  of  the 
enemy!  When  we  make  light  of  the  enemy,  it  is 
almost  as  though  we  had  lost  our  treasure — [compas- 
sion]. 

Thus,  if  matched  armies  encounter  one  another, 
the  one  who  does  so  in  sorrow  is  sure  to  conquer. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  133 

70.  DIFFICULT  TO  UNDERSTAND. 

My  words  are  very  easy  to  understand  and  very 
easy  to  practise,  but  in  the  world  no  one  can  under- 
stand, no  one  can  practise  them. 

Words  have  an  ancestor;  Deeds  have  a  master 
[viz.,  Reason].  Since  he  is  not  understood,  therefore 
I  am  not  understood.  Those  who  understand  me  are 
few,  and  thus  I  am  distinguished. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  wears  wool,  and  hides  in 
his  bosom  his  jewels. 

71.  THE  DISEASE  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 

To  know  the  unknowable  that  is  elevating.  Not 
to  know  the  knowable  that  is  sickness. 

Only  by  becoming  sick  of  sickness  we  can  be  with- 
out sickness. 

The  holy  man  is  not  sick.  Because  he  is  sick  of 
sickness,  therefore  he  is  not  sick. 

72.  HOLDING  ONESELF  DEAR. 

If  the  people  do  not  fear  the  dreadful,  the  great 
dreadful  will  come,  surely. 

Let  them  not  deem  their  lives  narrow.  Let  them 
not  deem  their  lot  wearisome.  When  it  is  not  deemed 
wearisome,  then  it  will  not  be  wearisome. 

Therefore,  the  holy  man  knows  himself  but  does 
not  display  himself.  He  holds  himself  dear  but  does 
not  honor  himself.  Thus  he  discards  the  latter  and 
chooses  the  former. 


134  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

73.  DARING  TO  ACT. 

Courage,  if  carried  to  daring,  leads  to  death  ;  cour- 
age, if  not  carried  to  daring,  leads  to  life.  Either  of 
these  two  things  is  sometimes  beneficial,  sometimes 
harmful. 

"Why  't  is  by  heaven  rejected, 
Who  has  the  reason  detected  ?  " 

Therefore  the  holy  man  also  regards  it  as  difficult. 

The  Heavenly  Reason  strives  not,  but  it  is  sure  to 
conquer.  It  speaks  not,  but  it  is  sure  to  respond.  It 
summons  not,  but  it  comes  of  itself.  It  works  pa- 
tiently but  is  sure  in  its  designs. 

Heaven's  net  is  vast,  so  vast.  It  is  wide-meshed, 
but  it  loses  nothing. 

74.  OVERCOME  DELUSION. 

If  the  people  do  not  fear  death,  how  can  they  be 
frightened  by  death? 

If  we  make  people  fear  death,  and  supposing  some 
would  [still]  venture  to  rebel,  if  we  seize  them  for 
capital  punishment,  who  will  dare? 

There  is  always  an  executioner  who  kills.  Now  to 
take  the  place  of  the  executioner  who  kills  is  taking 
the  place  of  the  great  carpenter  who  hews.  If  a  man 
takes  the  place  of  the  great  carpenter  who  hews,  he 
will  rarely,  indeed,  fail  to  injure  his  hand. 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  135 

7$.   HARMED  THROUGH  GREED. 

The  people  hunger  because  their  superiors  con- 
sume too  many  taxes ;  therefore  they  hunger.  The 
people  are  difficult  to  govern  because  their -superiors 
are  too  meddlesome  ;  therefore  it  is  difficult  to  govern. 
The  people  make  light  of  death  on  account  of  the  in- 
tensity of  their  clinging  to  life ;  therefore  they  make 
light  of  death. 

He  who  is  not  bent  on  life  is  worthier  than  he  who 
esteems  life. 

76.  BEWARE  OF  STRENGTH. 

Man  during  life  is  tender  and  delicate.  When  he 
dies  he  is  stiff  and  stark. 

The  ten  thousand  things,  the  grass  as  well  as  the 
trees,  are  while  they  live  tender  and  supple.  When 
they  die  they  are  rigid  and  dry.  Thus  the  hard  and 
the  strong  are  the  companions  of  death.  The  tender 
and  the  delicate  are  the  companions  of  life. 

Therefore,  he  who  in  arms  is  strong  will  not  con- 
quer. When  a  tree  has  grown  strong  it  is  doomed. 

The  strong  and  the  great  stay  below.  The  tender 
and  the  delicate  stay  above. 

77.   HEAVEN'S  REASON. 

Is  not  Heaven's  Reason  truly  like  stretching  a 
bow?  The  high  it  brings  down,  the  lowly  it  lifts  up. 
Those  who  have  abundance  it  depleteth  ;  those  who 
are  deficient  it  augmenteth. 


136  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

Such  is  Heaven's  Reason.  It  depleteth  those  who 
have  abundance  but  completeth  the  deficient. 

Man's  Reason  is  not  so.  He  depletes  the  deficient 
in  order  to  serve  those  who  have  abundance.  Where  is 
he  who  would  have  abundance  for  serving  the  world? 
It  is  the  man  of  Reason. 

Therefore  the  holy  man  acts  but  claims  not ;  merit 
he  accomplishes  but  he  does  not  linger  upon  it,  and 
does  he  ever  show  any  anxiety  to  display  his  excel- 
lence? 

78.  TRUST  IN  FAITH. 

In  the  world  nothing  is  tenderer  and  more  delicate 
than  water.  In  attacking  the  hard  and  the  strong 
nothing  will  surpass  it.  There  is  nothing  that  herein 
takes  its  place.  The  weak  conquer  the  strong,  the 
tender  conquer  the  rigid.  In  the  world  there  is  no  one 
who  does  not  know  it,  but  no  one  will  practise  it. 
Therefore  the  holy  man  says  : 

"Him  who  the  country's  sin  makes  his, 
We  hail  as  priest  at  the  great  sacrifice. 
Him  who  the  curse  bears  of  the  country's  failing 
As  king  of  the  empire  we  are  hailing. " 

True  words  seem  paradoxical. 

79.  KEEP  YOUR  OBLIGATIONS. 

When  a  great  hatred  is  reconciled,  naturally  some 
hatred  will  remain.  How  can  this  be  made  good? 


CANON  ON  REASON  AND  VIRTUE.  137 

Therefore  the  sage  keeps  the  obligations  of  his 
contract  and  exacts  not  from  others.  Those  who  have 
virtue  attend  to  their  obligations  ;  those  who  have  no 
virtue  attend  to  their  claims. 

Heaven's  Reason  shows  no  preference  but  always 
assists  the  good  man. 

80.  REMAINING  IN  ISOLATION. 

In  a  small  country  with  few  people  let  there  be 
aldermen  and  mayors  who  are  possessed  of  power 
over  men  but  would  not  use  it.  Induce  people  to 
grieve  at  death  but  do  not  cause  them  to  move  to  a 
distance.  Although  they  had  ships  and  carriages, 
they  should  find  no  occasion  to  ride  in  them.  Although 

they  had  armours  and  weapons,  they  should  find  no 
»-*<^ 

occasion  to  don  them. 

Induce  people  to  return  to  [the  old  custom  of] 
knotted  cords  and  to  use  them  [in  the  place  of  writ- 
ing], to  delight  in  their  food,  to  be  proud  of  their 
clothes,  to  be  content  with  their  homes,  and  to  rejoice 
in  their  customs :  then  in  a  neighboring  state  within 
sight,  the  voices  of  the  cocks  and  dogs  would  be 
within  hearing,  yet  the  people  might  grow  old  and 
die  before  they  visited  one  another. 

81.  PROPOUNDING  THE  ESSENTIAL. 

True  words  are  not  pleasant ;  pleasant  words  are 
not  true.  The  good  are  not  contentious ;  the  conten- 


138  LAO-TZE'S  TAO-TEH-KING. 

tious  are  not  good.  The  wise  are  not  learned ;  the 
learned  are  not  wise. 

The  holy  man  hoards  not.  The  more  he  does  for 
others,  the  more  he  owns  himself.  The  more  he  gives 
to  others,  the  more  he  acquires  himself. 

Heaven's  Reason  is  to  benefit  but  not  to  injure; 
the  holy  man's  Reason  is  to  act  but  not  to  strive. 


PUBLICATIONS   ON   CHINESE 
THOUGHT  AND  LIFE,  AND 
ORIENTAL  TOPICS  IN  GENERAL 


£ 


CHICAGO:  THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING  CO. 

1903 
LONDON:  KEGAN  PAUL,  TRBNCH,  TRUBNER  &  co.,  LIMITED 


Lao-Tze  s  Tao  Tek  King 

Chinese- English.       With  Introduction,    Transliteration, 
and  Notes. 

By  DR.  PAUL  CAR  US. 

With  a  photogravure  Frontispiece  of  the  traditional  picture  of 
Lao-Tze,  specially  drawn  for  the  work  by  Mishima  Shoso,  an  emi- 
nent Japanese  artist.  Appropriately  bound  in  yellow  and  blue, 
with  gilt  top.  345  pages.  Newly  bound  set  with  29  additional 
pages  of  Emendations  and  Comments.  Price,  $3.00  (153.) 

Contains:  (i)  A  philosophical,  biographical,  and  historical  in- 
troduction discussing  Lao-Tze's  system  of  metaphysics,  its  evolu- 
tion, its  relation  to  the  philosophy  of  the  world,  Lao-Tze's  life,  and 
the  literary  history  of  his  work ;  (2)  Lao-Tze's  Tao  Teh  King  in 
the  original  Chinese ;  (3)  an  English  translation ;  (4)  the  trans- 
literation of  the  text,  where  every  Chinese  word  with  its  English 
equivalent  is  given,  with  references  in  each  case  to  a  Chinese  dic- 
tionary ;  (5)  Notes  and  Comments  ;  (6)  Index. 

THE  EXTRAORDINARY  SIGNIFICANCE   OF  LAO-TZE. 

The  translator  says,  in  the  Introduction  to  his 
Lao-Tze's  Tao  Teh  King,  that  "No  one  who  is  inter- 
ested in  religion  can  afford  to  leave  it  unread."  He 
undertook  the  labor  of  editing  and  translating  this 
wonderful  little  book  for  the  purpose  of  helping  the 
English-speaking  public  "to  appreciate  the  philo- 
sophical genius  and  the  profound  religious  spirit  of 
one  of  the  greatest  men  that  ever  trod  the  earth." 

Lao-Tze's  Tao  Teh  King  contains  so  many  surpris- 
ing analogies  with  Christian  thought  and  sentiment 
in  it  that  we  should  deem  it  written  under  Christian 
influence  were  its  authenticity  and  pre-Christian  ori- 


iv  Publications  on  Oriental  Topics. 

gin  not  established  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 
Not  only  does  the  term  Tao  (word,  reason)  correspond 
quite  closely  to  the  Greek  term  Logos,  but  Lao-Tze 
also  preaches  the  ethics  of  requiting  hatred  with  good- 
ness. He  insists  on  the  necessity  of  becoming  like  unto 
a  little  child,  of  returning  to  primitive  simplicity  and 
purity,  of  non-assertion  and  non-resistance,  and  prom- 
ises that  the  deficient  will  be  made  whole,  the  crooked 
will  be  straightened,  the  empty  will  be  filled,  the  worn 
will  be  renewed,  those  who  have  too  little  will  receive, 
while  those  who  have  too  much  will  be  disconcerted. 
The  Tao  Teh  King  is  small  in  size  and  aphoristic  in 
form,  but  it  is  filled  to  the  brim  with  deep  wisdom 
and  sound  morality. 

Dr.  Carus's  text  edition  has  additional  advantages  ; 
it  is  so  arranged  that  every  reader  has  it  in  his  power 
to  verify  the  translation,  and  if  he  so  desires,  to  study 
the  Chinese  language  practically  in  connection  with 
this  celebrated  classic.  Every  Chinese  word  and  its 
English  equivalent  is  given  in  the  transliteration, 
which  thus  forms  a  complete  explanation  of  the  Chi- 
nese text,  and  for  every  word  references  are  given  to 
the  exact  page  of  Williams 's  Dictionary,  which  is  the 
most  accessible,  and,  in  some  cases  where  Williams 
is  insufficient,  to  the  K'anghi,  which  is  the  most  au- 
thoritative. There  are  also  notes  on  pronunciation 
and  methods  of  transcription,  made  by  the  Rev.  Geo. 
T.  Candlin  of  Tientsin  and  Dr.  Robert  Lilley  of  Mt. 
Vernon,  N.  Y.  The  roots  and  whole  philological  his- 
tory of  the  words  can  thus  be  traced  by  any  reader. 

OPINIONS  OF  CHINESE  SCHOLARS. 

THE  REV.  C.  SPURGEON  MEDHURST,  a  missionary 
well  known  as  a  Chinese  scholar  of  high  repute,  says 


Publications  on  Oriental  Topics.  v 

in  an  article  on  the  Tao  Teh  King,  published  in  The 
Chinese  Recorder  of  November  18,  1899: 

"For  the  student  missionary  perhaps  the  most 
useful  work  is  Dr.  Paul  Carus's  edition  of  the  Tao 
Teh  King,  published  last  year  (1898)  by  The  Open 
Court  Publishing  Co.,  Chicago.  Tastefully  gotten  up, 
it  contains,  in  addition  to  the  full  text,  a  translitera- 
tion of  the  whole,  with  full  grammatical  and  explana- 
tory notes.  The  scholarly  introductions,  with  the 
other  special  features  I  have  mentioned,  and  a  com- 
plete index,  make  this  edition  of  Lao's  work  the  best 
that  has  yet  seen  the  light.  The  translation  is  spirited 
and  in  many  places  reproduces  better  than  any  other 
the  rhythm  of  the  original. 

"The  average  Chinese  missionary  ought  to  be  more 
familiar  than  he  is  with  the  thoughts  of  Lao-Tze.  He 
may  supply  a  lesser  number  of  quotable  phrases  than 
the  Four  Books  and  the  Five  Classics,  but  he  is  the 
least  racial  and  most  universal  writer  China  has  ever 
produced.  A  study  of  him,  even  in  English,  will  mate- 
rially add  to  any  man's  equipment,  though  no  trans- 
lation can  convey  a  true  conception  of  the  original." 

REV.  ARTHUR  H.  SMITH,  American  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, Tientsin,  China,  writes  to  Dr.  Carus : 

"I  send  you  by  this  mail  a  few  slips  of  a  review 
of  your  Lao-Tze.  They  were  published  in  the  N.  C. 
Daily  News,  the  leading  journal  in  China.  1  also 
wrote  a  brief  notice  for  the  Biblical  World  whence  the 
copy  came  indirectly.  Allow  me  to  congratulate  you 
on  your  capacity  for  seeing  into  mill-stones." 

One  of  the  enclosed  review-slips  contains  the  fol- 
lowing passage : 

"It  goes  without  saying  that  the  task  of  obtaining 


vi  Publications  on  Oriental  Topics. 

sufficient  acquaintance  with  the  Chinese  language  to 
translate,  under  the  conditions  named,  a  book  like 
that  of  Lao-Tze  is  a  gigantic  one.  Dr.  Carus's  suc- 
cess is  little  short  of  marvellous.  He  frequently  cites 
the  versions  of  others,  none  of  which  happens  to  be 
at  hand  for  comparison,  but  in  the  extracts  given  it 
seems  clear  that  Dr.  Carus  has  succeeded  better  than 
Dr.  Legge  or  Dr.  Chalmers  in  the  passages  where  we 
are  able  to  compare  them, — a  very  remarkable  fact, 
indeed." — North  China  Daily  News. 

TAN  TEK  SOON,  a  native  Chinese  scholar  of  the 
Straits  Settlement,  Singapore,  writes  : 

"I  have  read  the  introductory  portion  with  great 
interest,  and  must  heartily  congratulate  you  upon  the 
accuracy  and  lucidity  of  your  rendering  of  a  rather 
obscure  work,  even  to  Chinese  scholars.  In  my  opin- 
ion it  is  a  marvel  of  literary  assiduity  and  application 
on  a  par  with  Stanislas  Julien's  Life  of  Hiuen  Tsang, 
and  I  am  sure  it  will  be  as  greatly  appreciated  by 
scholars." 

PROF.  S.  WATAS£,  a  native  Japanese  scientist, 
formerly  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  writes  : 

"I  thank  you  heartily  for  your  kindness  in  sending 
me  a  copy  of  your  fine  translation  and  critical  exposi- 
tion of  Lao-Tze's  Tao  Teh  King.  It  was  years  ago 
that  I  read  it.  Your  publication  of  the  Chinese  text 
will  be  highly  appreciated  by  all  who  want  to  make 
a  study  of  the  philosopher.  As  I  read  the  text  and 
then  the  translation,  I  am  astonished  how  well  you 
kept  the  original  terseness  and  severe  brevity  in  Eng- 
lish. It  gives  me  a  certain  fascination  to  read  the 
old  philosopher  through  two  such  divergent  media  as 
Chinese  and  English." 


Publications  on  Oriental  Topics.  vii 

THE  LATE  MONSIGNORE  C.  DE  HARLEZ,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  Sinologues  of  these  latter  days  and 
himself  a  translator  of  Lao-Tze's  Tao  Teh  King,  writes 
as  follows  in  a  book  review  concerning  Dr.  Carus's 
translation  : 

"Nous  donnons  volontiers  nos  eloges,  en  g6n£ral, 
aux  connaissances  du  Dr.  Carus  et  a  la  maniere  dont 
il  a  execute"  son  reuvre." 

In  the  same  article,  M.  de  Harlez  explains  that 
Tao  should  be  as  little  translated  by  "path,"  or 
"word,"  or  "reason,"  as  the  verbum  of  the  Gospel 
should  be  translated  by  "word."  In  justifying  his 
own  interpretation  of  Lao  Tze's  terms,  he  claims  that 
Tao  means  "le  principe  producteur  et  rdgulateur," 
while  the  negative  wuh  should  not  be  translated  by 
"non-existence,"  or  "the  void,"  but  by  "the  imma- 
terial, the  imperceptible." 

A  REVIEWER  IN  THE  NORTH  CHINA  HERALD  says: 
"There  are  a  good  many  of  us  who  have  worried 
along  in  China  for  a  term  of  years  and  yet  have  not 
come  to  a  realising  sense  of  the  wisdom  contained  in 
the  Tao  Teh  King. .  .  .The  text  of  the  classic  contains 
only  5320  characters,  but  its  terseness  is  so  extreme 
that  it  is  in  many  places  susceptible  of  widely-differ- 
ent interpretation.  Unlike  some  other  translators, 
Dr.  Carus  has  endeavored  to  preserve  in  his  English 
rendering  something  like  the  rhyme  and  rhythm  of 
the  original ....  Dr.  Carus's  book  is  a  truly  remarkable 
achievement." 

PROF.  ISAAC  T.  HEADLAND,  of  the  Peking  Univer- 
sity, writes  : 

"  I  congratulate  you  most  heartily  on  your  interest 


viii  Publications  on  Oriental  Topics. 

in  and  your  efforts  to  open  up  such  a  wise  old  phi- 
losopher to  the  American  reading  public. " 

DR.  FRIEDRICH  HIRTH,  Professor  of  Chinese  Lan- 
guage and  Literature  at  Columbia  University,  New 
York  City,  expresses  his  views  in  a  letter  to  the  author 
as  follows : 

"I  have  not  found  the  necessary  leisure  to  ex- 
amine your  Too  Teh  King  in  detail,  but  from  what  I 
have  seen  so  far,  your  publication  embodies  the  re- 
sults arrived  at  by  previous  investigators  and  transla- 
tors and  adds  improvements  in  many  respects.  I  am 
glad  to  observe  you  published  the  Chinese  text  and 
the  analysis  of  it  in  connection  with  your  English 
translation,  thus  giving  the  critical  reader  every  possi- 
bility to  check  your  work.  This  more  than  anything 
else  will  encourage  students  to  take  up  this  line  of 
research,  which  claims  the  highest  efforts  from  the 
philologist's  point  of  view  as  well  as  the  philoso- 
pher's. Your  idea  of  popularising  works  of  Chinese 
thought  will  greatly  contribute  towards  the  interest 
taken  in  Chinese  literature,  and  the  method  you  have 
adopted  in  your  representation  of  the  Too  Teh  King 
will  serve  as  an  excellent  model  for  similar  works  of 
the  kind." 

MISCELLANEOUS  PRESS  NOTICES. 

"It  is  a  convenient  volume  through  which  to  make 
such  acquaintance  with  the  Chinese  language  and 
Chinese  thought  as  an  American  scholar  must  con- 
sider desirable  in  view  of  the  present  increased  inter- 
course with  the  Oriental  world." — Reformed  Church 
Review. 

"All    that    one  could   do    to   make   the   immortal 


Publications  on  Oriental  Topics.  ix 

'canon  on  reason  and  virtue'  alluring  to  American 
readers  has  certainly  been  done  by  the  author.  The 
translation  is  faithful,  preserving  especially  the  char- 
acteristic terseness  and  ruggedness  of  style  of  the 
original,  the  type  work  is  superb,  the  comments  judi- 
cious."— The  Cumberland  Presbyterian. 

"Dr.  Carus's  work  as  editor,  translator,  annotator 
is  most  excellent  in  every  feature." — Western  Christian 
Advocate,  Cincinnati,  O. 

"  An  indispensable  book,  and  no  one  who  is  inter- 
ested in  religion  can  afford  to  leave  it  unread." — New 
York  Herald. 

' '  The  book  is  well  gotten  up,  with  striking  exterior; 
while  of  great  importance  to  the  serious  student,  it  is 
usable  and  interesting  to  any  one  who  cares  at  all  for 
the  thought  and  religions  of  the  Orient." — Professor 
Frederick  Starr,  in  The  New  Unity,  Chicago. 

"Extraordinarily  interesting.  Of  great  moment." 
-The  Outlook,  N.  Y. 

"  Much  labor  has  been  put  into  this  book.  It  will 
be  a  great  addition  to  the  knowledge  which  English 
readers  have  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  religious  books 
and  religious  leaders." — The  Church  Union,  N.  Y. 

"Nothing  like  this  book  exists  in  Chinese  litera- 
ture;  so  lofty,  so  vital,  so  restful..  ..We  have  com- 
pared this  translation  with  three  others — two  English, 
one  German — and  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  it  is 
the  most  satisfactory  and  serviceable  as  well  as  least 
expensive  now  accessible  to  the  public.  The  bright 
cover  of  yellow  and  blue  is  very  appropriate  and  sug- 
gestive of  the  Celestial  Kingdom." — The  Hartford 
Post. 


x  Publications  on  Oriental  Topics. 

"In  der  vorliegenden  Arbeit  giebt  Dr.  Paul  Carus 
eine  neue,  sich  an  das  Original  treu  anschliessende 
und  doch  recht  lesbare  Uebertragung  in's  Englische, 
ein  schatzbarer  Beitrag  zur  vergleichenden  Religions- 
kunde. " — Blatter  fur  literarische  Unterhaltung,  Leip- 
zig, Brockhaus  (No.  34,  Feuilleton). 

"Kann  den  Religionsforschern  empfohlen  wer- 
den." — PROF.  C.  P.  TIELE,  of  Leyden,  in  Theologischer 
Jahresbericht,  XVIII.,  p.  447. 

"Readers  will  find  much  to  arouse  their  thought 
and  admiration  in  its  pages." — Jewish  Comment,  Balti- 
more, Md. 

"Dr.  Carus  took  a  considerable  onus  on  himself 
when  he  threw  aside  all  previous  renderings  of  the 
great  thinker  Lao-Tze,  and  embarked  on  the  task  that 
was  recently  placed  before  the  public.  He  has  trod- 
den boldly  over  the  labors  of  Legge  and  Chalmers, 
not  to  mention  other  and  lesser  lights  who  have  es- 
sayed to  enter  the  lists.  If  his  conception  is  bold, 
however,  his  reward  seems  to  have  been  gained.  We 
have,  as  a  result,  what  is  an  excellent  translation, 
open  possibly  to  criticism — but  then  Sinologues  never 
will  lie  down  together — but  withal  satisfying." — Lon- 
don and  China  Telegraph,  July,  1899. 

There  are  in  addition  a  number  of  Japanese  peri- 
odicals which  give  careful  and  detailed  reviews  of  Dr. 
Carus's  translation  of  the  Tao  Teh  King.  We  mention 
among  them  the  Tetsugaku  Zasshi  (Journal  of  Philoso- 
phy), Tokyo;  the  Mujinto  (Eternal  Light),  Kyoto; 
\he£ukkyo  (i.  e.,  Buddhism),  Tokyo,  and  the  Shi  do 
Kwai  Kwai  Shi  (Reports  of  the  Association  of  Seekers 
after  Truth),  Omi. 


PHILOSOPHY  AS  A  SCIENCE 


A  Synopsis  of  the  Writings  of 

DR.    PA  UL    CA  RUS 


A  N  epitome  of  the  philosophy  with  which  Dr.  Carus 
has  identified  his  life  work.  It  contains  an  intro- 
duction written  by  himself,  summaries  of  his  books  (48) , 
and  editorial  articles  (956)  published  in  The  Monist  and 
The  Open  Court;  and  a  subject  index  of  25  pp.,  making 
the  volume  a  complete  reference  to  date,  of  the  writings 
of  this  author. 

Bds. ,  Clo.  Back,  50c.      Paper  25c. 


PRESS  OPINIONS. 


Prof.  E.  B.  McGilvary,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin,  says  (see 
Philosophy  as  a  Science,  Dr.  Paul 

Carus) : 

"Your  short  epitome  seems 
to  me  a  masterpiece  of  clearness 
and  directness.  If  all  philoso- 
phers pould  only  succeed  in 
making  themselves  understood 
as  you  do,  there  would  be  much 
less  discussion  among  us." 

Prof.  Edward  F.  Btichner,  of  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  says  (see 
Philosophy  as  a  Science,  by  Dr. 
Paul  Carus): 

"We  all  have  been  many  a 
time  indebted  to  you  for  special 
services  in  the  history  of  philo- 
sophy and  in  breaking  new 
ground  for  present  and  future 
construction  work.  And,  now 
comes  this  Wegweiser  which  en- 
ables us  to  appreciate  to  the 


leadership,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  sum  up  our  total  indebted- 
ness to  the  stimulating  work 
you  have  achieved." 

The  Dial,    Chicago,   says: 

"This  Volume,  (Philosophy  as  a 

Science)  after  an  introduction, 
in  which  the  author  sets  forth 
the  leading  ideas  of  the  monistic 
doctrine  which  he  represents, 
gives  us  brief  summaries  of  all 
his  published  writings,  which 
amount  to  no  less  than  48  books 
and  959  editorial  articles.  All 
of  these  writings  are  carefully 
indexed,  which  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  find  out  readily  just 
what  Dr.  Carus  thinks  about 
any  given  subject,  and  his  ideas 
are  apt  to  be  both  well-consid- 
ered and  weighty.  The  intro- 
ductory essay  is  to  be  particu- 


full    your    industry,  and  i your A&  larly  commended." 


Chinese  Philosophy 

Being  an  Exposition  of  the  Main  Characteristic  Features 
of  Chinese  Thought. 

By  DR.  PAUL  CARUS. 

Illustrated  with  numerous  diagrams,  tables,  and  other  sym- 
bols. This  essay,  which  appeared  first  in  The  Monist,  Vol.  VI., 
No.  2,  is  an  exposition  of  the  main  characteristic  features  of  Chi- 
nese thought :  it  is  a  sketch,  not  an  exhaustive  treatise,  and  still 
less  a  history  of  Chinese  philosophy.  It  purports  to  serve  as  an 
introduction  to  the  intricacies  of  typically  Chinese  notions,  ex- 
plaining their  symbols  and  revealing  their  mysteries  in  terse  and 
intelligible  language.  The  brevity  is  intentional,  for  the  essay  is 
meant  to  give  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  Chinese  world-conception. 

While  appreciating  the  remarkable  genius  exhibited  by  the 
founders  of  the  Chinese  civilisation,  the  author  points  out  the 
foibles  of  the  Chinese  and  traces  them  to  their  source.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  in  spite  of  its  candid  and  unreserved  criticism,  the 
essay  was  well  received  by  the  Chinese  authorities  and  was  granted 
the  rare  honor  of  being  recommended  by  the  Tsungli  Yamen  of 
Peking,  the  Imperial  Foreign  Office. 

In  reply  to  a  copy  of  this  article  forwarded  through  the  Amer- 
ican representative  to  H.  M.  the  Emperor  of  China,  the  Tsungli 
Yamen,  returned  the  following  informal  communication  : 

THE  TSUNGLI  YAMEN  TO  THE  HON.  MR.  DENBY. 

Informal.  PEKIN,  May  6th,  1897. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY : 

We  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  Your  Excel- 
lency's note,  wherein  you  state  that  by  particular  re- 
quest you  send  the  Yamen  a  copy  of  The  Monist — an 
American  Magazine.  Your  Excellency  further  states 


Publications  on  Oriental  Topics.  xiii 

that  it  contains  an  article  on  "Chinese  Philosophy" 
and  the  author  asks  that  it  be  delivered  to  H.  M.  the 
Emperor. 

In  reply  we  beg  to  state,  that  the  article  in  ques- 
tion has  been  translated  into  Chinese  by  order  of  the 
Yamen  and  has  been  duly  perused  by  the  members 
thereof. 

The  article  shows  that  the  writer  is  a  scholar  well 
versed  in  Chinese  literature,  and  has  brought  together 
matters  which  indicate  that  he  fully  understood  the 
subject  he  has  treated. 

The  book  will  be  placed  on  file  in  the  archives  of 
the  Yamen. 

OPINION  OF  A  CHINESE  SCHOLAR. 

A  Chinese  scholar  writes  with  reference  to  the 
communication  of  the  Chinese  government  as  follows  : 

"When  the  Tsungli  Yamen  voluntarily  certifies 
that  a  Western  scholar  fully  understands  Chinese  phi- 
losophy, and  the  Book  of  Changes  as  an  incidental  sec- 
tion of  the  same,  it  would  be  well  for  those  who  hap- 
pen to  be  interested  in  either  of  these  topics  to  inquire 
what  he  has  to  say.  .  .  .  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the 
author  made  a  profound,  if  not  an  absolutely  incom- 
prehensible, topic  to  a  certain  extent  luminous,  and  to 
an  even  great  degree  interesting." 

PRESS  NOTICES. 

"The  author  gives  in  his  introduction  terse  and 
discriminating  characterisations  of  the  'rare  mixture 
of  deep  thought  and  idle  speculations '  which  make 
up  the  Chinese  philosophy,  and  in  his  conclusion  ex- 
presses equally  just  opinions  of  China's  present  un- 


xiv  Publications  on .  Oriental,  Topics. 

happy  helplessness." — ].•  M.  Foster  >  Swatow,  China, 
in  The  American  Journal  of  Theology. 

"Valuable  and  of  unquestioned  reliability.  The 
delineation  of  the  philosophy  that-underlies  the  Chi- 
nese civilisation  is  so  ably  done  in  these  pages  that 
the  reader  cannot  fail  to  appreciate  the  causes  which 
produce  Chinese  conservatism." — Toledo  Blade. 

"Will  enable  Western  readers  to  appreciate  more 
clearly  the  causes  which  produce  Chinese  conserva- 
tism, thus  explaining  many  apparent  irreconcilable 
phases  of  Chinese  character  and  thought.  .  .  .  All  stu- 
dents of  Oriental  religion  and  philosophy  will  find 
this  study  of  Dr.  Cams  a  suggestive  and  valuable 
contribution  to  the  literature  of  their  subject." — Hart- 
ford Post,  Hartford,  Ct. 


THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

378  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago 

KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER  &  CO.,  LIMITED 
London,  England 


EX  ORIENTE: 


STUDIES  OF  ORIENTAL  LIFE  AND  THOUGHT. 


EDWARD   P.  THWING,  M.D.,  PH.D., 


MEMBER  OF  THE  ROYAL  ASIATIC  SOCIETY,    VICTORIA   INSTITUTE,    SOCIETY  OF  SCIENCE,    LETTERS 

AND  ART,  LONDON  ;  BRITISH  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION,  N.  Y.  ACADEMY  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY, 

MEDICO-LEGAL  SOCIETY,    AUTHOR  OF  "OUTDOOR  LIFE  IN    THE   ORIENT," 

"OUTDOOR  LIFE  IN  EUROPE,"  "THE  PERSIAN  QUEEN,"  "THE  KING 

IH  HIS  BEAUTY,"  "WINDOWS  OF  CHARACTER,"  ETC. 


S.  W.  PARTRIDGE  &  Co., 

LONDON. 


library. 


CONTENTS. 


I — Asiatic  Thought,  a  Historic  Evolution  .       7 

II. — Anatomy  of  National  Life      ...  12 

III.— Oriental  Characteristics      .         .         .  .19 

IV.-                                                   ...  31 

Y. — Religion  in  the  East 37 

VI. — Language,  Literature  and  Art        .         .  49 

VII.—                                                 "     .        .  .57 

VIII.- — Rejuvenescence  of  the  East    ...  70 

IX.— Supernatural  Factors          .         .         .  .79 

X. — Practical  Problems         .         .  94 


EX  ORIENTE  LUX. 

During  a  recent  tour  in  India,  China  and  Japan,  the 
study  of  Asiatic  Thought  as  reflected  in  language, 
monumental  art  and  social  life  has  occupied  much  of 
my  attention.  Acquaintance  with  the  work  of  Oriental 
scholars  in  the  Far  East  has  revealed  the  opulence  of 
resources  now  available.  There  is  an  imperative  need 
of  a  more  general  knowledge  of  the  East  in  its  relation 
to  the  religious,  scientific  and  commercial  enterprise  of 
the  West.  We  are  rapidly  extending  the  material 
domination  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  Its  moral  su- 
premacy should  keep  pace  with  its  material  conquests. 

The  teachers,  preachers  and  physicians  whom  we 
are  sending  to  the  Orient  as  pioneers  of  a  Christian 
civilization,  will  welcome  any  brief,  comprehensive 
plan  of  study  which  will  prepare  them  for  their  work. 
If  this  volume  proves  to  be,  in  any  degree,  suggestive 
and  helpful  the  aim  of  the  author  will  be  attained. 


CHAPTEB  I. 

ASIATIC  THOUGHT  AS  A  HISTORIC  EVO- 
LUTION. 


AN  ALLUKING  THEME. 

The  first  sight  of  the  shores  of  Asia  awakens  in  a 
scholar  profound  emotion.  Sir  William  Jones  has  re- 
corded the  thoughts  that  thrilled  him  when  he  beheld 
for  the  first  time  this  "  nurse  of  sciences,  the  inven- 
tress  of  delightful  and  useful  arts,  the  scenes  of  glori- 
ous actions,  fertile  in  the  productions  of  human  genius, 
and  infinitely  diversified  in  the  forms  of  religion  and 
government,  in  the  laws,  manners,  customs  and  lan- 
guages, as  well  as  in  the  features  and  complexions  of 
men."  The  breezes  of  Arabia  were  blowing  astern  as 
this  historic  dreamer,  at  the  close  of  a  long,  weary 
voyage  around  the  Cape,  saw  the  continent  of  Asia 
rise  on  the  horizon.  He  says  it  gave  him  "  inexpres- 
sible pleasure  "  to  gaze  for  the  first  time  on  shores  so 
illustrious  in  the  histoi'y  of  human  thought.  But  more 
than  a  century  has  passed  since  the  vision  of  that 
August  morning,  1783.  It  has  been  a  most  enriching 
portion  of  history.  It  has  seen  an  awakening  of  the 
East  under  the  extending  influence  of  commercial  in- 
tercourse and  scientific  inquiry.  Never  had  the  Latin 
phrase  Ex  Oriente  Lux  the  plenary  significance  it  now 
has.  Light,  indeed,  is  streaming  from  Sunrise  Lands. 


8  ASIATIC   THOUGHT  AS   A   HISTORIC   EVOLUTION. 

Long  closed  doors  are  now  open,  and  entombed  treas- 
ures are  revealed.  The  records  and  ruins  of  the  past 
and  the  social  life  of  to-day  are  accessible.  The  stag- 
nation of  centuries  is  stirred,  the  petrifaction  of  na- 
tional life  is  breaking  up,  and  historic  processes  are 
receiving  a  mighty  acceleration. 

There  is  a  prescient  fear  that  heathenism  is  doomed, 
and  that  from  the  West  a  conquering  power  will  come. 
"  Intelligent  Mussulmeu  themselves  admit  that  the 
proper  symbol  of  the  present  prospects  of  their  faith 
is  a  waning  crescent." 

"  The  moon  of  Mahomet 
Arose,  and  it  shall  set; 

While,  blazoned  as  on  Heaven's  immortal  noon, 
The  CROSS  leads  generations  on! " 

Said  Daniel  Webster,  "Whoever  would  see  the 
Eastern  World  before  it  turns  into  a  Western  World 
must  make  his  visit  soon."  "  There  is  nothing  left  of 
Japan  but  its  scenery,"  says  an  educated  Japanese 
now  in  this  country. 

AWAKENED  ATTENTION. 

The  last  hundred  years  have  not  only  seen  the  dawn- 
ing of  a  new  day  in  Asia,  but  witnessed  an  awakening 
of  interest  on  our  part  in  Oriental  Studies. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  was 
held  in  London,  March  15th,  1823.  Its  aim  was  dis- 
tinctly declared  to  be  the  investigation  of  subjects  re- 
lating to  Asia.  The  Duke  of  Somerset,  the  Earl  of 
Aberdeen  and  three  hundred  others  were  enrolled 
from  among  the  nobility,  army  officers  and  others 
whose  wealth  and  culture  and  opportunity  were  de- 
voted to  this  end.  Four  guineas  admission  fee  and 


AWAKENED    ATTENTION.  9 

three  guineas  annual  subscription,  in  addition  to  other 
income,  enabled  them,  through  their  Translation  Com- 
mittee, organized  under  King  Leopold's  patronage  in 
1828,  to  offer  four  gold  medals  of  fifteen  guineas  each, 
and  prizes  as  high  as  <£100,  to  stimulate  Oriental 
scholars  to  make  available  Chinese,  Indian,  Persian 
and  Arabic  manuscripts  through  carefully  edited  trans- 
lations. A  museum  was  also  founded  and  branches 
formed,  each  declared  to  be  "  an  integral  part "  of  the 
London  Society,  and  its  members  considered  non- 
resident members  of  the  parent  society. 

English  and  Continental  universities  and  other  bodies 
have  also  contributed  to  the  awakening  of  popular  in- 
terest in  the  study  of  Asiatic  Life.  Private  wealth  has 
been  put  at  the  service  of  exploring  enterprises.  Pro- 
fessor Max  Muller,  in  his  monograph,  "What  can 
India  teach  us  ?  "  appeals  to  young  men  who  are  go- 
ing there  to  occupy  civil  and  military  posts  to  pre- 
pare themselves  by  the  study  of  the  people  and  their 
national  characteristics.  With  much  more  empha- 
sis does  this  appeal  come  home  to  those  who  go  to 
the  East  for  educational  and  religious  purposes,  to 
mould  the  moral  and  religious  life  of  the  Eastern  races. 
Materials  for  study  abound.  Every  year  witnesses  an 
increase.  An  English  publisher  has  said  that  the 
literary  world  is  divided  into  two  classes :  those  who 
have  written  books  on  Egypt  and  those  who  have  not ! 
This  pleasantry  indicates  the  opulent  stores  open  to 
those  who  wish  to  study  the  development  of  Eastern 
thought. 

This  process  is,  as  Professor  Max  Muller  observes, 
a  historic  development  from  the  first  beginnings  of 
intellectual  life  up  to  the  highest  stages,  through 
various  combinations  and  differentiations.  The  very 


10        ASIATIC  THOUGHT  AS   A  HISTORIC  EVOLUTION. 

essence  of  history,  is  the  history  of  the  human  mind. 
The  true  historian  is  not  a  mere  chronicler,  but  a 
philosopher. 

THE  GENESIS  OF  THOUGHT. 

We  come,  therefore,  at  the  outset,  to  study  the  gene- 
sis and  characteristics'  of  Oriental  Thought.  There 
are  two  ever  present  factors  in  the  evolution  of  human 
thought.  Their  unity  is  constant.  Their  mutual  in- 
teraction is  inevitable.  They  form,  therefore,  a  ground 
of  differentiation.  These  structural  forces,  these  or- 
ganizing elements  are  physical  and  psychic.  They  are 
best  studied  by  historic  methods.  The  metaphysician 
says,  for  example,  that  thought  is  "  cognitive  energy," 
and  analyzes  it  into  concepts,  precepts  and  other  facts 
of  consciousness.  He  assumes,  as  did  Adam  Smith, 
certain  ineradicable  principles  like  human  selfishness, 
and  then  by  deductive  processes  from  cause  to  effect, 
comes  down  to  facts  and  opinions  about  men,  instead 
of  ascending  from  facts  to  laws,  from  aspects  to  es- 
sence. So  Cullen  in  pathology,  and  Hunter  and  Bell 
in  physiology,  have  reasoned  from  the  abstract  to  the 
concrete.  This  a  priori  reasoning  Sir  James  Mackin- 
tosh made"  to  be  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Scotch 
of  his  day.  John  Stuart  Mill  thinks  it  is  the  true  path 
in  political  economy,  which  he  regards  as  an  abstract 
science. 

The  two  poles  of  philosophy  are  thought  and  ex- 
istence. From  Aristotle  till  now,  thinkers  divide  in 
their  study  of  thought  and  nature,  of  the  subjective 
and  the  objective.  Into  the  conflict  of  nominalism 
and  realism  it  is  useless  for  us  to  enter.  It  is  enough 
to  assume  that  the  genesis  of  Oriental  Thought  is  its 
ethnic  history.  If  ethnology,  as  Mill  affirms,  is  the 


THE  GENESIS  OF  THOUGHT.  11 

science  of  character,  character  is  embodied  thought. 
Its  lexical  meaning  suggests  a  combination  of  inscrip- 
tions, a  record  of  physical,  mental  and  moral  develop- 
ment. By  a  careful  collection  and  analysis  of  facts 
the  basis  of  a  true  synthesis,  and  so  of  a  rational  sci- 
ence of  civilization,  is  laid. 

The  thorough  interweaving  "of  its  roots  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  race  on  which  it  has  sprung,  is  the  source 
of  the  power  of  Christianity,  according  to  James  Mar- 
tineau.  So  we  are  to  study  the  life  of  the  East  as  a 
concrete  symbol,  revealed  to  observation ;  not  in  arid 
and  recondite  speculations,  but  in  actual  visibilities 
under  recognized  laws  and  historic  periods  of  growth. 

This  historic  method  of  study  is  followed  by  the 
wisest  teachers  in  other  lines.  Taine  teaches  the 
growth  and  decline  of  art  by  presenting  Titian  and 
Angelo,  and  then  the  features  of  a  degenerate  age  that 
followed.  In  literature  he  exhibits  the  same  chang- 
ing epochs  in  their  salient  features,  disengaging  from 
their  complexity  the  fundamental  principles  on  which 
they  work.  He,  preeminently,  had  the  instincts  of 
a  historian,  and  his  literary  culture  rested  on  the 
solid  basis  of  the  natural  sciences,  mathematics  and 
medicine. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  indicate  the  purpose  and 
method  of  our  research,  and  now  we  turn  to  the  study 
of  this  fruitful  and  inviting  theme,  the  nativity  of 
thought  in  the  Orient. 


CHAPTER    II. 
THE  ANATOMY  OF  NATIONAL  LIFE. 

This  felicitous  phrase  is  used  by  Buckle  in  his  His- 
tory of  Civilization  to  express  some  of  the  material 
factors  which  go  to  form  the  articulated  skeleton  of  a 
nation  in  its  physical  existence.  These  are  the  funda- 
mental conditions  of  material  and  moral  progress,  the 
modifying  influences  that  mould  its  life  and  growth. 

Some  of  these  are  location,  geographical  boundaries, 
soil  and  climate.  To  illustrate,  it  is  claimed  that  "  the 
civilization  of  Asia  has  always  been  confined  to  thv, 
vast  tract  where  a  rich  alluvial  soil  has  secured  to  man 
that  wealth,  without  some  portion  of  which  no  in- 
tellectual progress  can  begin."  As  the  gulf  stream  has 
given  Europe  its  civilization,  so  the  occlusion  of  Arctic 
seas  from  the  Pacific,  by  the  peculiar  conformation  of 
its  northern  boundary,  and  the  juxtaposition  of  Ameri- 
can and  Asiatic  shores,  have  made  Polynesian  life 
what  it  is. 

SCOTLAND   AND   SPAIN. 

The  paradoxes  of  Scotch  history,  the  contradictions 
and  discrepancies  of  its  national  life  are  phenomena 
which  find  at  least  a  partial  solution  in  the  facts  of  its 
physical  geography  and  its  relations  to  adjoining 
countries.  The  causes  which  hindered  the  accumula- 
tion of  wealth,  which  discouraged  the  municipal  spirit, 


SCOTLAND    AND    SPAIN.  IJj 

tind  so  changed  the  life  and  temper  of  the  people 
through  several  generations,  are  ingeniously  traced  out 
by  Buckle,  and  his  conclusions  are  fortified  by  copious 
citations  from  contemporary  writers. 

The  civilization  of  a  semi-tropical  country  like  Spain 
is  also  another  illustration  of  the  modifying  influence 
of  physical  factors  in  the  evolution  of  national  life. 
As  the  temperament  of  man  is  his  fate,  so  the  climate 
of  a  country  is  justly  called  its  fate.  The  slant  of  in- 
tellectual light  and  of  solar  rays  change  the  destiny  of 
men  and  races.  The  Iberian  peninsular  is  exposed  to 
peculiar  vicissitudes  of  climate.  The  infrequency  of 
rain  and  difficulty  of  irrigation  combine  with  the  heat 
to  produce  drought,  famine  and  pestilence.  During 
two  centuries  there  have  been  more  .earthquakes  in 
Spain  than  in  all  Europe  combined,  Italy  excepted. 
"  No  other  part  of  Europe  is  so  clealy  designated  by 
nature  as  the  seat  and  refuge  of  superstition.  Aspects 
of  nature,  by  inflaming  the  imagination,  encouraged 
superstition  and  prevented  men  from  daring  to  analyze 
such  threatening  physical  phenomena,  in  other  words, 
prevented  the  creation  of  the  physical  sciences.  We 
may  form  some  idea  of  the  insecurity  of  life  and  of  the 
ease  with  which  an  artful  and  ambitious  priesthood 
could  turn  such  insecurity  into  an  engine  for  their  own 
power."  "  So,"  says  Buckle,  "  Spain  sleeps  on,  a 
huge  and  torpid  mass  of  medievalism,  the  most  back- 
ward country  in  Europe,  impassive  amid  the  stir  of 
intellectual  life  about  her,  and  bound  by  a  superstition 
that  centuries  have  graven  on  the  minds  and  eaten 
into  the  hearts  of  her  people." 

Moreover,  in  Spain  and  in  isothermal  zones  of  the 


*  History  of  Civilization,  vol.  ii.,  p.  5. 


14  THE   ANATOMY   OF   NATIONAL   LIFE, 

East,  the  intense  heat  of  a  part  of  the  year  interrupts 
ordinary  outdoor  vocations.  Work,  of  necessity,  is 
suspended.  There  is  a  loss  of  impulse,  momentum, 
continuity;  and  so  there  is,  in  time,  engendered  an 
instability  of  character,  more  or  less  marked,  as  a  re- 
sult of  enforced  idleness,  where  there  are  no  equalizing 
moral  forces.  Alike  under  the  skies  of  India  and  amid 
the  August  heats  of  Central  Spain  and  Italy  I  have 
seen  abundant  evidence  of  this  impairment  of  charac- 
ter and  resolution  through  the  deteriorating  influence 
of  physical  environment. 

Pritchard,  Rey  and  Bitter  have  collected  materials 
on  this  point  and  on  the  influence  on  character  of  a 
wandering,  pastoral  life.  Barbaric  tribes  which  have 
left  regions  of  sterility  and  emigrated  to  a  more  genial 
and  uniform  climate  have  developed  a  comparatively 
high  civilization. 

ASPECTS  OF  NATURE. 

Lyell,  in  his  Geology,  has  referred  to  the  influence 
of  volcanic  disturbances  on  the  imagination ;  so  also 
Darwin,  Word,  Beale  and  Tschudi.  They  state  the 
curious  fact  that,  instead  of  becoming  indifferent  to 
them  through  their  repetition,  people  become  more 
troubled  by  each  recurrence  of  seismic  phenomena. 
Nor  are  these  apprehensions  confined  to  the  credulous 
and  ignorant.  The  educated  clergyman  and  the  phy- 
sician in  the  East  have  told  me  that  they  grew  more 
nervously  apprehensive  with  each  new  earthquake. 

In  Coleman's  Mythology  of  the  Hindus,  there  is 
a  striking  instance  of  theological  fiction  given  which 
was  founded  on  such  occurrences.  Among  primitive, 
unphilosophic  peoples  the  portents  of  the  heavens, 
visual  phenomena,  such  as  are  caused  in  paludal  dis- 


THANATOPHIDIA   OF   THE   EAST.  15 

tricts  by  emission  of  gases,  by  mirage,  fog*,  or  by  elec- 
tric disturbances,  startling  apparitions  and  auditory 
impressions,  explicable  to  us,  but  baffling  to  their 
thought,  contribute  to  develope  the  imagination  wholly 
out  of  proportion  to  the  reasoning  faculties.  The 
journals  of  the  Eoyal  Asiatic  Society  are  rich  in  data 
bearing  upon  this  point.  Sir  Thomas  Brown's  In- 
quiries into  Vulgar  Errors,  1646,  William's  Expedi- 
tion on  the  Niger,  and  Forry's  Influence  of  Climate, 
also  illuminate  the  subject.  * 

THANATOPHIDIA  OF  THE  EAST. 

The  presence  of  deadly  reptiles  and  wild  beasts,  and 
the  terror  awaked  by  them,  as  related  to  demonology, 
is  another  branch  of  the  subject  which  can  only  be 
alluded  to  here.  Bruce,  in  his  travels  through  Abys- 
sinia, found  that  hyenas  were  regarded  as  enchanters, 
and  the  skin  of  the  dead  beast,  even,  was  not  touched 
till  a  priest's  incantations  had  exorcised  the  demon. 
Marsden  in  Sumatra  found  the  people  unwilling  to 
take  the  life  of  a  tiger,  although  the  number  of  lives 
destroyed  was  frightful.  The  same  fact  is  observed 
in  India.  So  of  snakes.  A  deadly  cobra  was  caught 
on  the  grounds  of  a  friend  with  whom  I  afterwards 
tarried  several  days.  The  charmer  who  had  caught 
it  refused  to  kill  it,  for  "  a  god  is  in  it,"  he  said. 
The  worship  of  the  serpent  and  other  reptiles,  and 
the  charms  used  as  prophylaxis  are  referred  to  by 
Coleman  in  his  Hindu  Mythology  and  in  Mather's 
History  of  Gnosticism.  A  tiger's  nose,  for  example, 

Beausobre  Histoire  Critique  tie  Manichee,  vol.  i.,  p.  243  ;  Bombay 
Society  Translations,  vol.  iii.,  pp,  98-105;  Journal  Asiatic  Society, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  337  ;  Nineteenth  Century,  Dec.  1889. 


1C  THE    AX  ATOM  1"    OF    NATIONAL   LIFE. 

is  generally  supposed  to  bring  good  luck  if  bung  about 
the  neck  of  a  woman  in  childbirth. 

Buriie,  in  his  Bohara,  records  the  curious  super- 
stitions prevalent  among  the  Seiks  respecting  wounds 
inflicted  by  tigers.  In  the  Japan  Mail,  June  13th 
and  14th,  1890,  I  have  considered  this  matter  at  some 
length,  under  the  head  of  "  Snakes  in  India." 

INFLUENCE  OF  CLIMATE. 

Climate  determines  the  food  of  the  people.  Whether 
it  is  abundant  or  scant}',  spontaneously  produced  or 
with  great  labor ;  whether  it  is  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopment of  vigorous  life,  or  the  contrary,  are  facts 
related  to  the  question  of  population,  employment, 
wages,  distribution  of  wealth,  and  thus  of  inteDigeuce. 
and  character.  Here  is  a  wide  field  of  research  in 
social  economics,  as  well  as  physiological  science. 
Vegetable  food,  according  to  some,  increases  the  fe- 
cundity of  people.  High  living  retards  and  poor  living 
seems  to  increase  population.  There  is,  however,  a 
compensative  element  found  in  the  fact  that,  though 
the  birth  rate  of  poverty  is  large,  its  mortality  rate  is 
larger  than  it  is  among  the  higher  classes. 

Food  affects  disposition.  "  Knock  him  down  !  He 
is  only  tea  and  rice,"  said  one  foreigner  to  another  in 
the  streets  of  Canton,  referring  to  a  troublesome  China- 
man. When  roused,  "the  Chinese  fight  like  tigers 
and  elephants,"  but  ordinarily  they  are  very  patient, 
yielding  and  self-contained.  Some  animal  food  is  used 
by  the  poor,  but,  as  a  nation,  the  Chinese  do  not  eat 
it  as  we  do.  No  one  can  doubt  that  a  large  amount 
of  animal  food  strengthens  animal  passions.  "  Jeshu- 
run  waxed  fat  and  kicked,"  while  Squeers'  boys,  of 
Dotheboys  Hall,  fed  on  milk  and  water,  grew  both 


INFLUENCE    OF    CLIMATE.  17 

lean  and'  tame.     "  Conquer  your  passions,  and  don't 
be  eager  after  vittles,"  was  the  master's  advice. 

Sir  William  Hunter  says  that  there  are  forty  millions 
underfed   in   India,  and   that   the  struggle  for  life  is 
harder  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  land  than  it 
was  when  it  passed  uncjer  British  rule.     He  does  not 
wonder  that  writers  have  spoken  of  it  as  "  bleeding  to 
death."     Ninety  per  cent,  of  the  rural  population  are 
tillers  of  the  earth.     The  heat  is  intense.     Drought  is 
common.     Irrigation  is  inadequate.      The  sweeping  off 
of  vast  jungles  has  dried  up  countless  reservoirs  of 
moisture.    Cattle  degenerate  from  deficiency  of  pasture, 
and  pasture  lands  die  from  lack  of  moisture  and  man- 
ure.    Its  waters  have  been  nearly  exhausted  of  fish, 
practically  the  only  form .  of  animal  food  allowed  by 
the   caste   rules   of   eighty   per   cent,    of  the   people. 
Famines  have  been  accepted  as  inevitable  concomi- 
tants of  the  climate.     "  It  is  not  surprising  that  from 
the  earliest  period  to  which  our  knowledge  of  India 
extends,  an  immense  majority  of  the  people,  pinched 
by  the  most  galling  poverty,  and  just  living  from  hand 
to  mouth,  should  always  have  remained  in  a  state  of 
stupid   debasement   broken   by   incessant   misfortune, 
crouching  before  their  superiors  in  abject  submission, 
and  only  fit  either  to  be  slaves  themselves  or  to  be  led 
to  battle  to  make  slaves  of  others."  * 

The  relation  of  climate  to  the  clothing,  dwellings 
and  the  health  of  a  people  invites  study.  Dr.  Coan, 
of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  has  referred  to  the  incidental 
evils  introduced  by  a  Christian  civilization.  Natives 
who  had  lived  out  doors  all  their  lift1,  and  wearing 
little  if  any  clothing,  subsisting  on  simple  food,  and 


*  Buckle,  vol.  i.  p.  53. 


18  THE   ANATOMY   OF    NATIONAL   LIFE. 

knowing  little  of  mental  activity,  found  their  health 
suffered  as  they  adopted  the  methods  of  life,  dress, 
in-door  activities  and  daily  study,  introduced  by  for- 
eign missionaries.  Dr.  Clarence  Thwing,  in  charge  of 
a  hospital  at  Sitka,  connected  with  a  large  Training 
School  of  young  Alaskan  Indians,  has  noticed  the 
same  impairment  of  health  in  the  case  of  not  a 'few 
whose  whole  mode  of  living  is  revolutionized  by  be- 
coming students.  It  is  obvious  that  the  physical 
geography  of  a  continent  to  a  great  degree  determines 
its  civilization  through  the  operation  of  meteorological 
laws.  An  insular  climate  has  increased  moisture.  A 
tropical  country  has  heat.  It  has  also  a  third  factor, 
the  trade  winds,  with  those  modifications  noticed  by 
Humboldt  and  others,  called  monsoons. 

The  striking  contrast  which  Eg}rptian  civilization 
presents  to  that  of  Arabia,  and  of  other  similarly  con- 
ditioned countries,  illustrates  the  influence  of  phy- 
sical factors  on  the  growth,  wealth  and  character  of 
a  people.  From  the  days  of  Herodotus  till  now  this 
thought  has  attracted  the  attention  of  all  geographers 
of  the  East.  But  Buckle  himself,  who  presses  this 
point,  also  admits  that,  although  priority  in  the  march 
of  civilization  belongs  to  the  fertile  zones  of  the  East, 
a  better,  more  permanent  progress  was  made  in  the 
West.  This  came,  not  from  the  bounty  of  nature,  but 
from  the  energy  of  man.  The  former  is  limited  and 
stationary ;  the  latter  almost  boundless.  As  the  re- 
sources of  mind  increase,  there  is  a  dominion  estab- 
lished over  external  nature  by  man  himself,  who  was, 
in  a  sense,  the  product  of  its  material  forces.  There 
are  other  influences,  natural  and  supernatural,  to 
which  we  may  now  turn. 


CHAPTEE    III. 
ORIENTAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

Potential  increments  of  a  still  higher  type  remain  to 
be  examined.  Important  as  is  the  accumulation  of 
data  in  physical  geography,  vital  statistics  and  similar 
material  conditions,  there  are  modifying  influences  to 
be  studied,  which  are  represented  in  lineage,  language, 
literature,  legislation,  religion  and  social  usages.  It 
has  been  said  that  the  progress  of  humanity  is  not  an 
advance  in  natural  capacity,  but  simply  in  opportun- 
ity ;  not  of  internal  growth,  but  of  external  advantage  ; 
that  one  born  in  a  civilized  community  is  not  likely  to 
be,  as  such,  superior  to  one  born  among  barbarians, 
but  that  the  character  of  each  is  solely  the  product  of 
the  mental  atmosphere  about  him.  Such  a  theory  is 
contradicted  by  the  facts  of  anthropological  science. 
Heredity  is  one.  We  are  a  part  of  all  that  has  pre- 
ceded us.  An  umbilical  cord  binds  us  to  generations 
gone,  hence  it  is  hardly  a  hyperbole  to  say  that  a 
child's  education  should  begin  a  hundred  years  before 
his  birth.  Heredity  is  understood  by  all  who  have  to 
do  with  penology,  and  it  no  more  needs  defence  than 
the  system  of  modern  astronomy.  Without  going  to 
the  extreme  of  Ferri,  Lombroso  and  other  physiolo- 
gists in  circumscribing  human  freedom,  we  must  trace 
alike  the  perfection  or  defacement  of  cerebral  stric- 
ture largely  to  atavistic  influences.  * 


*  Study  of  Brains,  Charles  K.  Mills,  M.  D.,  188G,     Moritz  Bene- 
clikt,  1881. 


20  ORIENTAL    CHARACTERISTICS. 

The  Oriental  and  Occidental  races  present  to-day 
salient  points  of  divergence  which  reflect  the  growth 
of  centuries.  There  is  a  solidarity  which  we  cannot 
ignore,  a  homogenesis  in  mind  as  in  matter.  As  phy- 
sical forces  have  carved  the  mountains  and  channeled 
the  rivers  of  a  continent,  spread  out  field,  forest,  des- 
ert and  ice  plain,  so  in  the  historic  evolution  of  a 
nation's  life  we  trace  the  recurrent  and  progressive 
mental  influences  which  mould  it  generation  after  gen- 
eration into  an  individuality  all  its  own. 

NATIONAL  INDIVIDUALITY. 

Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  utters  a  profound  truth 
when  he  says :  "  There  is  no  use  of  trying  to  graft  the 
tropic  palm  upon  the  northern  pine.  The  same  divine 
forces  underlie  the  growth  of  both,  but  leaf,  and  flower 
and  fruit  must  follow  the  law  of  race,  of  soil,  of  cli- 
mate." 

Dr.  John  W.  Draper  reasons  on  this  subject  clearly 
in  the  interests  of  naturalism  along  physiological  lines. 
In  his  Philosophy  of  Civilization  he  draws  a  parallel 
between  the  infancy,  childhood,  youth,  maturity  and 
age  of  individual  life  and  the  corresponding  stages  of 
credulity,  inquiry,  faith,  reason  and  decrepitude  in 
national  growth.  From  legend  and  miracle  the  mind 
passes  on  to  investigation  and  science,  as  society  ad- 
vances from  rudeness  to  culture,  from  poverty  to 
wealth.  The  same  inexorable  laws,  he  believes,  will 
end  in  national  decay  and  ruin,  as  Gibbon  has  shown 
in  his  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Koman  Empire.  On 
the  other  hand,  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  founds  his  spec- 
ulations in  Evolution,  and  postulates  an  inevitable  ad- 
vance in  culture  and  refinement.  Altruistic  considera- 
tions will  come  to  be  a  natural  and  spontaneous  fruit, 


NATIONAL   INDIVIDUALITY.  21 

by  a  necessity  of  our  being.  These  theories  are  in 
collision.  The  tendency  to  advancement,  and  also  the 
fact  of  recession  must  be  admitted.  Only  in  the  super- 
natural, however,  can  we  find  adequate  forces  to  resist 
and  overcome  the  gravitating  tendency  revealed  in 
human  history.  Christianity  alone  gives  dignity  to 
man,  value  to  life  and  permanency  to  civilization.  As 
the  late  Professor  B.  N.  Martin  has  remarked :  "  It 
alone  can  supply  the  force  which  can  raise  man  so 
above  himself  as  to  curb  these  mighty  tendencies  to 
evil,  and  secure  the  steady  progress  of  society  toward 
its  destined  end  of  blessedness  and  glory.  These  anti- 
nomies of  the  scientific  reason  find  their  harmony, 
these  insoluble  problems  shall  reach  their  solution 
in  the  predicted  days  of  love  and  purity  when  'they 
shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain, 
saith  the  Lord.'  Under  all  the  simply  natural  condi- 
tions observed  hitherto,  the  tendency  to  social  im- 
provement has  been  by  far  too  weak  to  contend  suc- 
cessfully with  the  accumulating  tendencies  in  a  wealthy 
society  to  corruption  and  decay.  This  is  incontest- 
ably  the  verdict  of  history,  and  as  an  absolute  fact, 
philosophy  must  accept  it  as  the  basis  of  her  reason- 

ing."* 

The  East  has  an  individuality.  Thought  and  life 
have  strongly  marked  characteristics.  Whatever  may 
be  our  theory  of  the  genetic  influences  that  shaped 
them,  they  present  distinct  features  as  a  historic  study. 
There  is  a  mental  as  well  as  a  physical  anatomy  clearty 
revealed.  "  As  far  as  the  East  is  from  the  West "  has 
more  than  a  geographical  meaning.  Sir  Edwin  Ar- 
nold, in  his  Light  of  the  World,  says  that  in  East- 


journal  of  Christian  Philosophy,  April,  1883. 


22  ORIENTAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

eni  lands,  "light  and  life  are  larger"  than  with  us, 
passions  are  stronger  and  heart-storms  are  like  their 
earthquakes  and  floods. 

"  Withering  simoons  and  winds  that  tear  the  seas 
To  milky  madness,  find  their  counterparts 
In  those  own  children  of  the  Light,  who  live 
And  love  and  hate  with  pulse  at  quicker  beat. " 

TBe  aim  of  this  manual  is  simply  to  give  suggestions 
of  practical  points  of  study,  rather  than  to  elaborate 
them.  So,  perhaps,  by  naming  a  few  features  in  which 
race,  language  and  religion  have  stamped  themselves 
on  Asiatic  Thought  we  may  be  better  able  to  detect 
the  higher  organizing  elements. 

SELF-ABASEMENT. 

Oriental  manhood  is  said  to  rest  in  self-abasement, 
as  Occidental  manhood  is  founded  in  self-respect. 
The  American  is  audacious,  assertive  ;  the  Briton  is 
brave  and  bold ;  both  showing  it  in  facial  signs,  in 
vocal  tones,  in  the  contour  and  movement  of  the  body, 
hand,  foot,  eye,  every  way.  The  Asiatic  is  ordinarily 
supple,  servile,  often  timid.  Some  one  has  said  that 
the  Bengali  is  born  with  an  essay  in  his  hand  and  a 
speech  in  his  mouth ;  a  good  writer  and  speaker,  but 
physically  a  poltroon, "particularly  averse  to  physical 
contests.  Bishop  Thorburn,  of  Calcutta,  speaks  of  the 
sternness  with  which  he  has  been  obliged  to  rebuke 
personal  worship  and  kissing  of  his  feet. 

In  a  Japanese  restaurant  you  are  welcomed  by  the 
lady  in  charge,  who  not  only  falls  on  her  knees  before 
you,  but  brings  her  forehead  and  lips  to  the  floor. 
The  physician  in  China  and  elsewhere  is  viewed  with 
special  reverence,  and  his  photograph  is  sometimes 
secured  and  worshipped  with  the  respect  paid  to  the 


SELF-ABASEMENT.  23 

ancestral  tablet.  The  Japanese  who  was  wont  to  call 
me  to  breakfast  bowed  low  before  tlie  closed  door  as 
obsequiously  as  if  it  were  open  and  lie  were  person- 
ally saluting  me.  Standing  before  cages  filled  with 
crazy  creatures,  I  have  noticed  the  supremest  form  of 
reverence  paid,  the  kowtow,  a  knocking  of  the  head 
on  the  floor  with  repeated  blows.  The  navigator, 
Cook,  suffered  himself  to  be  taken  into  a  Hawaiian 
temple  and  worshipped  as  the  god  Lono,  wearing  a 
scarlet  necklace.  Prayers,  incantations  and  offerings 
were  made  before  him.  Infatuated  like  Herod,  he 
"  died  by  visitation  of  God  "  in  a  quarrel  with  the 
natives  soon  after.  * 

Dutch  envoys  in  1655  stooped  to  the  most  servile 
humiliation  at  Peking  to  secure  pecuniary  advantage, 
making  the  kowtow  to  the  throne  and  to  the  mere 
name  of  the  emperor.  Williams  tells  us,  however,  that 
the  mercantile  speculation  they  represented  proved 
nearly  a  total  loss.  The  audience  question  has  always 
been  a  crucial  point.  It  was  not  enough  to  say,  as 
did  Kweiliang,  thirty  years  ago,  "  I  will  willingly  burn 
incense  before  the  President  of  the  United  States  if 
asked  to  do  so."  The  point  was,  how  far  shall  Occi- 
dental manhood  bend  to  degrading  forms  of  Oriental 
self-abasement.  The  details  of  the  triumph  of  the 
West  in  this  matter,  1873,  and  those  of  the  audience 
with  foreigners  had  by  the  Emperor  March  5th,  1891, 
form  very  instructive  data  on  the  point  in  hand. 

Physiological  facts  doubtless  lie  at  4he  bottom,  and 
partly  account  for  these  mental  characteristics.  Peo- 
ple of  tropical  climes  cannot  be  expected  to  possess 
the  push,  pluck  and  power  of  those  in  colder  zones. 


*  Sandwich  Islands  (Hirain  Biiigham),  p.  35. 


24  ORIENTAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

Passions  are  hot,  but  there  is  not  that  uniform  reso- 
luteness and  resiliency  of  spirit  which  forms  so  large 
a  segment  of  our  mental  sphere.  *  The  influence  of  a 
rice  diet  has  already  been  alluded  to.  Famine,  pov- 
erty, over-breeding,  incontinence  and  social  oppres- 
sion, particularly  caste,  also  combine  to  narrow,  dwarf 
and  degrade  manhood.  Says  a  Hindu  pundit :  "  Caste 
has  suppressed  the  development  of  individuality  and 
independence  of  character.  It  has  made  the  country 
fit  for  foreign  slavery  by  previously  enslaving  the  peo- 
ple in  the  most  abject  spiritual  tyranny.  It  has 
brought  on  physical  degeneracy  by  confining  marriage 
within  narrow  circles,  and  developing  other  injurious 
customs  like  early  marriage."  The  latter  "  is  the 
greatest  evil  of  our  country,"  says  an  educated  native 
physician ;  "  among  the  principal  causes  of  our  phy- 
sical degeneration  as  a  race,"  says  another.  Half  the 
mothers  of  India  die  prematurely  or  are  invalids  in 
consequence,  and  the  vast  majority  of  the  other  half 
suffer  in  health  from  it,  says  Dr.  Lai  Sircar,  after 
thirty  years  observation  among  his  people.  Aristotle 
in  his  day  spoke  of  the  weak  and  puny  offspring  pro- 
duced by  premature  wedlock.  That  this  physical  de- 
terioration is  related  to  the  condition  of  abject  mental 
subserviency  cannot  be  questioned. 

A  government  inspector  of  schools  in  India  says 
that  many  of  these  boy-husbands  "  are  exhausted  and 
spent  by  the  time  they  reach  seventeen,  their  for- 
mer energy  and  brightness  all  gone."  "  The  masses 
multiply  without  any  more  thought  of  the  future  than 
rabbits,"  says  Sir  Henry  Maine.  Ten  has  been  the  age 
for  marriage  to  be  consummated.  Dr.  Mansell,  a  lady 


*  Windows  of  Character  (Dr.  E.  P.  Th  \ving),  pp.  109-128. 


SELF-ABASEMENT.  25 

physician,  reports  four  cases  of  fearful,  hopeless  muti- 
lation which  she  had  tried  to  treat.  One  of  these  little 
girl-wives  appeared  to  be  no  more  than  seven  years  of 
age.  The  man  who  had  summoned  the  surgeon,  "  said 
in  plain  English,  without  the.  slightest  appearance  of 
shame  or  pity,  that  this  was  his  last  wife  !  "  Well 
does  pundit  Vidyasagara  exclaim,  "  In  such  a  coun- 
try, where  men  are  void  of  compassion,  would  that 
women  never  were  born  !  " 

Professor  Chamberlain,  of  the  Imperial  University 
of  Japan,  remarks  :  "  we  may  sometimes  regret  the 
substitution  of  common-place  European  ways  for  the 
glitter  and  glamor  of  picturesque  Orientalism  ;  but 
can  it  be  doubtful  which  of  the  two  civilizations  is  the 
higher,  both  materially  and  intellectually  ?  Does  not 
the  experience  of  the  last  three  hundred  years  go  to 
prove  that  no  Oriental  state  which  retains  distinctive 
Oriental  institutions  can  hope  to  keep  its  territory  free 
from  Western  aggression  ?  "  He  points  to  India.  He 
also  says  of  Japan  that  it  was  a  question  of  life  or 
death  with  her.  She  must  cease  to  be  Oriental  or 
cease  to  be  her  own  mistress.  Hence  "  history  has 
never  witnessed  a  more  sudden  volte-face"  The  Occi- 
dental is  full  of  virile  energy  and  self-assertion.  Be- 
cause-of  this  audacity  and  independence  he  aims  to 
extend  his  dominion  from  sea  to  sea  and  from  the 
river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  He  is  doing  it,  too. 

•But  the  repressive  influence  of  Buddhism  is  another 
factor  not  to  be  overlooked.  The  pitiful  self-abase- 
ment and  annihilation  of  individuality,  this  extinction 
of  all  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  a  true  manhood  is 
enough  to  belittle  and  abase,  apart  from  all  these  other 
considerations.  Nobility  of  character  is  impossible. 
St.  Hilaire  says  that  this  ancient  system  has  never 


26  ORIENTAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

been  able  to  found  a  single  government,  nor  a  toler- 
able social  state.  How  could  it  ?  Among  ethnic  re- 
ligions this  is  conspicuously  sterilizing,  for  it  teaches 
men,  as  Professor  Mpnier  Williams  observes,  to  "be- 
ware of  action  and  aim.  at  inaction,  indifference  and 
apathy,*  as  the  highest  of  all  states." 

OEIENTAL  IMMOBILITY. 

As  a  sequence  we  find,  as  a  second  feature,  quies- 
cence, stagnation,  petrifaction  of  life,  in  sharp  and 
striking  contrast  to  the  eager,  alert  and  progressive 
temper  of  the  West.  To  illustrate  :  China  is  fitly  com- 
pared to  Lot's  wife,  a  stony  column,  a  stiffened  figure, 
with  its  rigid  face  looking  backward  on  the  past.  The 
dominant  thought  of  Confiicianisna  is  man's  duty  to 
conserve,  not  to  create.  To  create  implies  improve- 
ment, advance,  discovery  and,  therefore,  a  leaving  of 
the  things  which  are  behind.  This  would  be  treason 
to  Confucian  formalism,  which  doctrine  is  rather  a 
body  of  ceremonies  than  a  religious  system.  It  merges 
individuality  into  the  rank  and  file  of  uniformity,  while 
it  deadens  the  sensibilities  of  the  heart.  Its  watch- 
word is  Return  !  Its  perfect  manhood  is  found  in  the 
long  gone  past.  Antiquity  is  its  changeless  theme. 
This  is  China's  lamp  and  guide  ;  this  her  pattern  and 
her  goal.  Confucius  disclaimed  all  originality.  He 
was  not,  ho  said,  an  author,  but  ah  editor.  His  aim 
was  simply  to  transmit.  He  was  anchored,  and  an- 
chylosis seems  to  some  the  empire's  beauty  and  de- 
fence.* 

Corea,  the  Land  of  the  Morning  Calm,  just  twenty 
years  ago  warned  off  from  her  coast  the  American 

*  Dragon,  Image  and  Demon  (Dr.  DuBose),  pp.  102-107. 


ORIENTAL  IMPERTURBABILITY.  27 

Admiral  Eogers  with  the  proud  taunt,  "  Corea  boasts 
four  thousand  years  of  history.  She  is  satisfied  with 
it  and  wants  no  other !  "  She  had  been  for  ages  a 
Hermit  Nation,  not  only  passively  but  actively.  It 
was  death  to  any  Corean  to  cross  the  river  Tumen, 
which  for  two  hundred  miles  forms  its  northern  bound- 
ary. Three  centuries  ago  a  belt  of  desolation,  seventy 
miles  wide,  was  made  by  destroying  towns  and  vil- 
lages. Pickets  guarded  the  frontier. 

At  about  the  same  time  an  imperial  edict  of  the 
Mikado  made  it  a  crime,  punishable  with  death,  for  a 
Japanese  to  leave  the  country  or  to  return  to  Japan 
again.  Christians  were  to  be  seized  and  imprisoned 
as  felons.  Thus  has  the  East  isolated  herself,  de- 
clared her  unwillingness  to  change,  and  proved  the 
immobility  of  her  civilization.  No  Hindu  can  cross 
the  black  water  without  losing  caste.  If  he  returns, 
he  must  humble  himself  and  eat  penitential  pills  made 
of  bovine  excrements. 

ORIENTAL  IMPERTURBABILITY. 

Causes  already  signalized  combine  to  make  Asiatics 
imperturbable,  stoical,  and  apathetic.  Nervousness  is 
called  the  barometer  of  civilization.  It  marks  the  tu- 
multuous vitality  of  the  West,  which  is  fitly  compared 
to  an  Atlantic  that  knows  no  repose.  "  We  buy,  we 
sell,  we  tear  down,  we  build  up.  We  put  girdles  round 
the  globe  as  if  time  were  but  an  hour,  and  eternal  des- 
tiny hung  on  these  material  issues.  Every  day  of  the 
year  somebody's  brain  reels.  Insanity  is  a  part  of  the 
price  we  pay  for  our  Western  civilization."  As  Dr. 
Talmage  says,  "  We  are  born  in  a  hurry,  we  live  in  a 


*  Dr.  J.  O.  Putnam,  Buffalo  State  Asylum. 


28  ORIENTAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

hurry,  we  die  in  a  hurry,  and  are  driven  to  Greenwood 
on  a  trot !  " 

The  magnetic  intensities  of  our  latitudes  and  the 
feverish  rush  of  life  develop  an  abnormal  nerve  sensi- 
bility in  vivid  contrast  to  the  dull  unconcern  of  the 
average  Asiatic.  In  no  particular  does  race  reveal 
itself  more  clearly.  The  medical  man  sees  it  in  the 
comparative  indifference  to  pain  in  surgical  operations. 
An  old  woman  at  Canton,  from  whose  eye  Dr.  Parker 
was  about  to  remove  a  cataract,  declined  to  take  chlo- 
roform. He  expressed  doubt  as  to  her  ability  to  bear 
the  knife,  when  she  declared  that  he  might  take  both 
eyes  out  and  put  them  back  again  if  he  chose,  which 
showed  her  confidence  in  him  and  in  her  own  stoical 
fortitude.  A  cancerous  breast  was  removed  from  a 
woman  at  Tokyo,  sixty  years  of  age.  No  anaesthetic 
was  used,  and  not  a  groan  or  movement  made.*  In 
that  same  city,  a  foreigner  who  spent  a  night  with  a 
native,  noticed  about  midnight  a  slight  movement  and 
a  few  words  spoken  in  the  adjoining  room,'  separated 
by  a  thin  paper  partition.  He  soon  dropped  asleep 
again.  His  host  in  the  morning  told  the  visitor  that  a 
son  had  been  born.  The  next  day  the  guest  saw  the 
mother,  and  expressed  his  surprise  at  the  stillness 
which  attended  the  event.  She  replied,  "  O,  we  call  a 
woman  stupid  who  ciies  out  at  such  a  time !  " 

Men  can  be  found  at  a  criminal  court  ready,  for 
money,  to  bear  the  beating  and  torture.  Even  if  de- 
capitation is  the  penalty,  heads  are  sometimes  offered 
as  substitutes,  so  'that  the  doomed  man,  unless  his 
crime  be  specially  heinous,  may  buy  his  life  and  liberty. 
But  for  this  lessened  nerve  sensitiveness  deaths  under 


British  Medical  Journal,  1888,  p.  1465. 


ORIENTAL   IMPERTURBABILITY.  29 

terrific  Chinese  torture  would  be  more  common.  Un- 
til one  lias  seen  and  liandled-tlie  instruments  by  which 
the  body  is  sometimes  crushed  and  mutilated,  no  con- 
ception can  be  had  of  the  brutality  suffered.  As  a 
remedy  for  sickness  in  a  parent,  a  Chinaman  some- 
times slices  off  flesh  from  his  own  body.  Dr.  Dudgeon 
has  had  cases  to  treat  where  serious  results  followed 
self-mutilation. 

The  austerities  of  mendicants  in  the  East  illustrate 
the  same  dulled  nature.  Shanghai  once  had  four  men 
who  played  the  part  of  Simon  Stylites.  One  crawled 
into  a  cage  about  three  feet  square,  and  was  hoisted 
forty  feet  into  the  air,  where  he  remained  with  neither 
food  nor  drink  for  seven  days.  He  hoped  to  get  money 
for  a  temple.  Some  lie  on  spikes.  The  gift  of  a  cer- 
tain sum  will  pull  out  one  spike.  A  man  at  Allahabad 
endured  fifty  years  of  this  self-crucifixion.  Filial  self- 
sacrifice  illustrates  the  same  stoicism.  At  Ningpo  the 
spirit  of  a  dead  daughter  is  still  worshipped.  She  saw 
her  father  baffled  as  to  the  working  of  a  boiler  furnace. 
Inspired  with  the  idea  of  sacrifice  indigenous  in  the 
Asiatic  mind,  she  leaped  into  the  fiery  depths  and  was 
consumed.  The  iron  moukler  ever  afterward  had  great 
success  and  wealth.  A  moral  and  physical  insensi- 
bility unite  even  in  young  children.  Miss  Cumming 
saw  some  Ningpo  boys  greatly  enjoying  one  day  the 
torture  of  rats,  which  they  had  dipped  in  oil  and  set 
on  fire.  The  boys  I  met  while  examining  the  crosses 
and  severed  heads  on  the  Execution  Ground,  Canton, 
showed  the  same  brutal  instincts.  These  are  a  physi- 
cal inheritance.  A  miniature  city  was  once  built  at 
the  Summer  Palace,  Peking,  a  mile  square,  where  the 
Emperor  might  see  on  a  small  scale  what  his  seclusion 
from  the  real  world  did  not  allow  him  to  see.  Trades 


30  ORIENTAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

were  carried  011  by  imperial  attendants,  goods  hawked 
about,  arrests  made  and  real  floggings  inflicted,  to  the 
anguish  of  the  innocent  actors,  but  to  the  amusement 
of  the  Son  of  Heaven.  The  readiness  with  which  an 
Asiatic  commits  suicide  is  still  another  illustration  of 
moral  obtuseness.  So,  too,  the  indifference  shown  in 
taking  another's  life.  The  passengers  on  the  East 
Bengal  Railway  are  warned  by  the  police  against  tak- 
ing anything  from  unknown  persons,  to  eat  or  drink. 
AVater  is  poisoned  as  it  is  drawn  from  the  well,  and 
sweetmeats  as  they  are  brought  from  the  bazar.  AA^heii 
unconscious  the  victim  is  robbed.  The  history  of 
the  Thugs  may  be  read  in  this  connection. 

The  use  of  opium  is  related  to  Oriental  impassi- 
bility. The  habit  is  an  expression  of  inborn  tastes.. 
It  also  contributes  to  the  perpetuation  of  deadened 
sensibilities  quite  in  harmony  with  the  features  of 
self-abasement  and  immobility  already  noticed. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 
ORIENTAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

ORIENTAL  MYSTICISM. 

Western  minds  are  analytic,  philosophical,  disputa- 
tious, while  Eastern  thought  is  intuitive,  nebulous  and 
transcendental.  We  make  but  little  of  inward  voices, 
vigils  and  self-illuminations,  but  the  East  is  full  of 
dreamers,  "  ten  thousand  Emersons,"  idealists  who 
leave,  as  Carlyle  says,  the  anchorage  of  an  actual  uni- 
verse and  soar  away  into  the  perilous  altitudes  of  be- 
liefs and  revelations.  Averse  to  logical  reasoning  and 
mathematical  consistency,  they  trust  to  impressions 
and  yield  to  the  touch  of  a  god  within  them.  When 
Mr.  Joseph  Cook  asked  one  of  the  coadjutors  of 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen  how  the  Brahmo  Somaj  dis- 
tinguished between  what  it  calls  inspiration  from  above 
and  one's  own  individual  thought,  the  evasive  reply 
was  given,  "  That's  one  of  the  secrets  of  religious 
genius."  Reason  is  to  be  silenced  as  well  as  sense. 
Personality  is  lost  in  an  introspective  vision.  A  di- 
vine union  is  accomplished  in  a  celestial  ecstacy  and 
divine  afflatus.  Helpful  to  this  process  certain  ob- 
jects are  used,  with  which  occult  meanings  are  asso- 
ciated. These  are  made  known,  step  by  step,  to  the 
initiated.  Mr.  Sen  used  various  theistic  symbols,  bor- 
rowed from  heathenism,  in  the  worship  of  his  church  ; 
for  example,  lighting  a  basin  of  oil  and  burning  sandal 
sticks,  one  by  one,  saying,  "  Thus  perish  our  lust  and 
pride."  He  also  had  Hindu  dances  and  spectacular 


32  ORIENTAL  CHARACTEKISTICS. 

performances,  which  remind  an  Orientalist  of  the  rites 
of  Egyptian  and  Hellenic  mystics.  The  criticism  qf 
discerning  men  then  was  that  "this  composite  set  of 
ceremonies  and  religious  doctrines  has  in  it  so  many 
appeals  to  ancient  Hindu  prejudices,  that  it  can  never 
lead  the  mass  of  the  Hindu  populations  out  of  their 
attachments  and  hereditary  misbeliefs.'*  So  it  has 
proved  since  his  death  in  1884. 

Emerson  himself  admits  the  superiority  of  Western 
over  Eastern  thought  when  he  says  that  the  former  is 
active  and  creative  ;  its  philosophy  is  a  discipline,  and 
it  promotes  art,  commerce  and  freedom ;  while  "  Asia 
is  the  country  of  immovable  institutions,  the  seat  of  a 
philosophy  delighting  in  abstractions,  of  men  faithful 
in  doctrine  and  in  practice  to  the  idea  of  a  deaf,  un- 
implorable,  immense  fate."  As  Dr.  Holmes  has  said, 
"  The  Oriental  side  of  Emerson's  nature  delighted  it- 
self in  these  narcotic  dreams,  born  in  the  land  of  the 
poppy  and  of  hashish,"  and  that  his  poem,  Brahma, 
was  "  a  vacuum  of  intelligibility."  "  The  geography 
of  an  undiscovered  country,  and  the  soundings  of  an 
ocean  that  has  never  been  sailed  over,  may  belong  to 
the  realm  of  knowledge."  t 

There  is  no  lack  of  literature  on  the  subject,  and  he 
who  would  understand  the  Oriental  of  to-day  must 
know  the  mystic  of  the  past.  Not  that  his  knowledge 
is  transmissible,  for  "  it  begins  and  ends  with  the  soli- 
tary dreamer.  The  next  who  follows  him  has  to  build 
his  own  cloud-castle,  as  if  it  were  the  first  aerial  edifice 
that  a  human  soul  had  e.ver  constructed."  But  the 
causes  that  gave  rise  to  mysticism,  the  methods  by 


Orient  (Joseph  Cook,  1886),  p.  121. 
Life  of  Emerson,  (Holmes)  p.  391, 


THE    OltlENTAL    HOME.  33 

which  it  has  so  long  been  fostered,  and  the  practical 
influence  it  still  has  on  Asiatic  thought,  demand  pa- 
tient and  thorough  investigation.  It  is  not  an  unrea- 
sonable demand  made  by  Eastern  Christians  that  some- 
thing of  the  color  and  flavor  of  Oriental  life  should 
mark  the  nascent  thought  of  to-day.  Each  land  has 
its  own  mental  atmosphere  and  perspective.  New 
comers  must  adapt  themselves  to  it.  Wisdom  was  not 
born  in  the  West.  It  will  not  die  there.  Light  still 
streams  from  the  East. 

THE  ORIENTAL  HOME. 

Aii  important  ground  of  differentiation,  not  yet  no- 
ticed, is  that  which  is  furnished  by  the  domestic  life  of 
the  Oriental.  Mr.  Seward  once  exclaimed,  "  There 
are  no  homes  in  Asia !  "  Only  where  Christianity  pre- 
vails is  the  conception  of  HOME  realized.  Professor 
M oilier  Williams  finds  in  no  Indian  tongue  "  any  equiv- 
alent to  that  grand  old  Saxon  monosyllable,  Ifo/>/<-, 
that  little  word  which  is  the  key  to  our  national  great- 
ness and  prosperity."  The  word  Zenana  simply  means 
the  place  of  women,  a  designation  of  apartments,  where 
females  are  kept  as  toys  or  drudges.  "Home,"  he 
says,  "  is  the  hallowed  place  of  rest  and  of  trustful  in- 
tercourse, where  husbands  and  wives,  brothers  and 
sisters,  male  and  female  relatives  and  friends,  gather 
together  round  the  same  hearth,  in  loving  confidence 
and  mutual  dependence,  each  and  all  working  together 
like  the  differently  formed  limbs  of  one  body,  for  the 
general  good  and  for  the  glory  of  the  great  Creator." 
According  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  position  of  woman  is 
the  one.  effective  test  of  civilization.  Her  position  in 
India,  he  says,  is  midway  between  the  extremes  of 
barbarism  and  Christianity.  Japan  is  in  advance  of 


34  ORIENTAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

all  Asiatic  people  in  the  education  of  woman.  In  1886 
about  one  female  out  of  eighteen  in  Japan  was  at 
school,  while  in  India  there  was  hardly  one  in  sixty 
under  instruction.  There  is  a  Brahininic  saying,  "  To 
ediicate  a  woman  is  to  put  a  knife  in  the  hand  of  a 
monkey."  The  Indian  wife  of  ancient  times,  it  is  true, 
was  spoken  of  in  the  Mahabharata  as  "  half  of  man, 
his  truest  friend  ;  "  but  wre  also  read  in  Mauu's  code 
that  "  she  should  be  kept  in  a  state  of  dependence,  and 
should  be  beaten  with  a  bamboo  cane  if  she  commit 
faults"  (ix.,  2,  3;  viii.,  299).  Professor  Wilson  quotes 
from  Hindu  tales  which  dwell  on  the  depravity  of  wo- 
men, making  "their  appetites  two  fold,  their  intellect 
four,  their  lust  eight  fold."  Pundit  Sastri  writes,  "the 
mean  jealousies  of  our  women  have  ruined  the  peaee 
of  many  a  household,  and  caused  the  disruption  in 
many  cases  of  once  united,  happy  families."  He  at- 
tributes this  to  their  ignorance  and  seclusion.  The 
Indian  Mirror,  when  edited  by  Keshub  Chunder  Sen, 
remarked  that  a  home  in  Bengal  was  "  a  whited  sepul- 
chre !  There  may  be  exceptions,  but  this  is  the  rule. 
The  horrors  of  the  Zenana  are  multiplied  tenfold  by 
the  misery  of  the  joint  family,  and  the  degradation 
which  domestic  ill-will  produces." 

THE  JOINT  FAMILY  SYSTEM. 

Western  life  makes  the  man  a  unit ;  Eastern  life 
makes  the  family  the  social  unit.  We  believe  that 
personal  responsibility  is  quickened,  industry  fostered, 
wealth,  public  spirit  and  patriotism  developed  by  dis- 
tinct, individual  family  life,  in  place  of  the  patriarchal 
and  joint  household  system.  In  the  beginning  of 
society,  when  life  and  property  were  insecure,  and  food 
difficult  to  obtain,  this  clannish  feeling  served  a  good 


THE   JOINT   FAMILY   SYSTEM.  35 

purpose.  Self-preservation,  cheap  living  and  brother- 
ly feeling  Avere  secured.  But  as  society  advances  from 
the  archaic  stage,  this  copartnership  breeds  evils.  'In 
an  economic  view,  indolence  is  one  result  of  having  all 
things  in  common.  There  is  little  to  encourage  self- 
exertion.  One  of  the  Hindu  judges  says  that  the  idle 
fatten  on  the  industrious,  seniors  defraud  the  juniors, 
and  unpleasant  friction  is  unavoidable.  Fresh  groups 
of  subordinate  families,  with  separate  interests  and 
affections,  make  the  partnership  burdensome.  Litiga- 
tion is  common  where  there  is  property,  and  this  is 
most  demoralizing.  The  joint  system  in  India,  accord- 
ing to  Judge  Mullick  of  Calcutta,  "  is  destined  to  die  a 
sure  death,  and  nothing  on  earth  can  save  it."  Re- 
strictive legislation  is  needless. 

In  China  the  joint  family  system  is  a  vital  factor. 
The  economical  support  of  households,  the  claims  of 
kinship,  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  soil  and,  above 
all,  the  ancestral  dignity  of  the  family  name,  make  it  a 
necessity,  in  their  view.  After  the  death  of  a  father, 
the  eldest  son  is  the  representative  head.  He  acts  as 
high  priest  of  the  families  of  the  male  children,  when 
sacrifices  are  offered  to  the  ancestral  manes.  He  is 
the  chief  at  bridal  and  burial.  At  his  death  his  eldest 
son,  though  an  infant,  succeeds  to  the  rights  of  primo- 
geniture. If  there  be  no  heir,  a  nephew  or  cousin  is 
adopted,  so  that  some  one  in  a  direct  line  may  burn 
incense  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  There  may  be  dif- 
ferent heads  of  families,  but  only  one  head  of  the  clan. 
In  Japan  the  idea  of  clan  is  feudal,  and  does  not  in- 
volve the  use  of  the  same  surname,  as  in  China  or  in 
Scotland. 

There  is  a  nearer  approach  to  our  home  life  among 
tli<>  Japanese  than  among  other  Asiatics,  but  the  status 


30  ORIENTAL    CHAItA<  TI.KISTICS. 

of  woman  is  low.  Professor  Chamberlain  remarks : 
"  The  greatest  duchess  in  the  land  is  still  her  husband's 
drudge.  She  fetches  and  carries  for  him,  bows  down 
humbly  in  the  hall,  waits  upon  him  at  meals,  and  may 
be  divorced  at  his  good  pleasure.  In  1888,  one  mar- 
riage in  three  ended  in  a  divorce." '  The  seven 
grounds  for  separation  are  disobedience,  dishonesty, 
jealousy,  loquacity,  sterility,  leprosy  and  lewdness. 
The  great  moralist,  Kaibara,  writing  on  the  Whole 
Duty  of  Woman,  Onna  Diagaku,  says  that  seven- 
tenths  of  his  countrywomen  are  afflicted  with  "  the  five 
worst  maladies  :  indocility,  discontent,  slander,  jealousy 
and  silliness.  From  these  arises  her  inferiority  to  men. 
Such  is  the  stupidity  of  her  character,  that  it  is  incum- 
bent on  her,  in  every  particular,  to  distrust  herself  and 
obey  her  husband."  Miss  Bacon  says :  "  She  must 
bear  all  things  from  him  with  a  smiling  face,  even  to 
the  receiving  with  open  arms  into  the  household  some 
other  woman  whom  she  knows  to  bear  the  relation  of 
concubine  to  her  own  husband.  As  long  as  the  wife 
has  no  rights  which  the  husband  is  bound  to  respect, 
no  great  advance  can  be  made.  European  practice 
cannot  be  grafted  upon  the  Asiatic  theory,  but  the 
change  in  the  home  must  be  a  radical  one  to  secure 
permanent  good  results."  t  If  this  be  true  in  en- 
lightened Japan,  it  is  a  more  imperative  need  in  other 
parts  of  the  Eastern  world. 


*  Things  Japanese  (Kelly  &  Walsh,  Yokohama),  pp.  92-366. 
f  Japanese  Girls  and  Women  (Boston,  1891),  pp.  85-116. 


CHAPTEE   V. 
RELIGION  IN  THE  EAST. 

We  are  studying  Asiatic  Thought  as  a  historic  devel- 
opment. The  organizing  forces  have  been  found  to  be 
physical,  at  the  start,  such  as  climate,  soil,  food  and 
material  environments.  These  fundamental  conditions 
of  civilization  form  the  anatomy  of  national  life.  The 
location  of  a  continent,  the  configuration  of  its  surface 
and  boundaries,  its  atmospheric  vicissitudes,  its  scenic 
aspects,  its  physical  disturbances,  the  presence  of  wild 
beasts  and  reptiles,  with  other  physical  factors,  deter- 
mine the  character  of  its  primitive  population.  These 
genetic  influences  steadily  mould  its  aboriginal  life. 
Not  in  saltatory  or  zigzag  steps,  but  by  a  natural,  pro- 
gressive growth  there  is  developed  a  national  indi- 
viduality. We  have  glanced  at  a  few  of  the  features 
of  Asiatic  character,  results  of  this  historic  evolution. 
Repressive  influences  have  tended  to  dwarf  manhood 
and  quench  self-respect.  There  is  petrifaction  and 
immobility  of  life.  Asiatics  generally  are  imperturba- 
ble and  apathetic.  Though  passionate  at  times,  they 
ordinarily  show  languor  and  indifference.  The  aver- 
age Oriental  thinker  is  mystical,  introspective,  tran- 
scendental. The  domestic  life  of  the  East  has  fur- 
nished still  further  data,  and  we  now  naturally  come  to 
the  more  vital  elements  of  Eastern  Thought,  expressed 
in  its  religious  life.  Hero  are  concrete  results  of  forces 
already  studied.  They  are  also  causes.  Historically 


38  UELIGIOX    IN    THE    EAST. 

they  appear  both  as  antecedents  aud  products.     Their 
corelatiou  aud  interaction  are  apparent. 

It  is  well  to  consider  the  generic  idea  of  religion 
in  the  East.  All  men  worship.  We  may  traverse  the 
world,  as  Plutarch  has  remarked,  and  find  cities  with- 
out walls  and  without  wealth,  without  kings  and  with- 
out coins,  but  never  without  prayer  and  worship.  The 
Ashautee  rain-maker  and  the  Arcadian  shepherd,  the 
Parsee  and  Moslem  alike  feel  "  the  breedings  of  some 
Over-soul."  Professor  Tyndall  truly  says,  "  No  athe- 
istic reasoning  can  dislodge  religion  from  the  heart  of 
man.  As  an  experience  of  the  consciousness  it  is  per- 
fectly beyond  the  assaults  of  logic."  Of  newly-dis- 
covered tribes  in  the  heart  of  the  Dark  Continent,  Dr. 
Livingstone  says,  "  They  have  clear  ideas  of  the  Su- 
preme God." 

The  Eastern  races  specially  show  how  universal  and 
ineradicable  is  this  religious  conviction.  Primitive, 
unphilosophical  people  seem  to  ba  more  responsive  in 
spiritual  instincts  than  wre,  whose  visional  grasp  of  the 
unseen  is  hampered  by  our  education.  Their  languages 
are  freighted  with  figures  which  show  how  warm  and 
luxuriant  their  imagination  is.  Nature  to  them  is  vital, 
vivid,  inspiring.  Fancy,- though  rude,  is  creative  and 
picturesque.  The  transition  to  Jhe  supernatural  is  easy 
where  the  imagination  is  alert,  clairvoyant  and  un- 
fettered by  reason. 

PRIMITIVE    MONOTHEISM. 

The  learned  Schlegel  remarked  that  his  studies  of 
ancient  religion  convinced  him  that  men  started  with 
the  worship  of  the  Supreme  Being,  but  that  the  power 
of  nature  over  the  imagination  introduced  polytheism 
and  obscured  the  more  spiritual  ideas,  which  were  pre- 


PRIMITIVE    MONOTHEISM.  39 

served  a  secret  by  the  wise  alone.  Popular  thought 
flowed  in  this  channel,  while  the  few  thinkers  saw  a 
unity  in  natural  phenomena,  and  recognized  a  center 
and  source  of  all  things.  Semitic  races  held  to  the 
one  invisible  God,  while  the  Aryan  deified  second 
causes,*  and  the  Turanian  trembled  before  the  Un- 
known. "  The  watersheds  of  language  have  been  the 
great  watersheds  of  thought.  In  the  search  for  the 
ideal  these  great  races  have  taken  different  directions. 
The  Turanian,  impressed  with  a  vague  and  childish 
sense  of  the  mysterious,  has  not  yet  advanced  into  the 
idealizing  stage.  To  the  nomads  of  Northern  Asia 
God  is  awful,  undented.  The  ideal  of  the  Chinese  is 
a  perfectly  organized  government."  *  A  panoramic 
view  of  ethnic  religions,  like  that  which  Humboldt's 
Cosmos  gives  of  men's  conceptions  of  nature  in  suc- 
cessive historic  epochs,  would  here  be  inviting,  but 
delay  us  from  the  more  practical  ends  in  view. 

The  monotheism  of  the  Jew  became  the  deism  of 
the  Moslem.  It  is  declared  in  the  Zendavesta  that 
Abraham  taught  the  religion  it  records.  Leading 
Arabian  writers  claim  this  to  be  true  of  Brahminism, 
equally  with  Persian  Magianism,  as  shown  by  Hyde 
in  his  elaborate  work  a  century  ago.  t  It -is  said  that 
to-day  the  Brahmins  of  the  Coroinandel  Coast  hold  to 
the  idea  of  one,  independent,  perfect,  Supreme  Being ; 
and  when  a  young  Brahmin  receives  his  sacred  cord, 
his  father  says  to  him  privately,  "  Kemember,  my  son, 
there  is  but  one  God,  and  every  Brahmin  is  bound  to 
worship  Him  in  secret."  £  This  is,  however,  a  theoretic 


*  Origin  and  Development  of  Religious  Belief  (S.  Baring  Gould), 
vol.  i.,  p.  GO. 

f  Historia  Religionis  Veterum  Parsarum. 
J  Mmurs  des  Indes  (Du  Bose),  tome  i.,  225. 


40  RELIGION  IN   THE   EAST. 

and  not  a  practical  principle.  Nature  is  made  tlie 
inactive,  inferior  part  of  the  great  Invisible.  This 
Being  has  no  interest  in  human  affairs.  Orientals  re- 
gard any  form  of  labor  on  the  part  of  their  sovereign 
as  derogatory  to  imperial  dignity.  Furthermore,  evil 
is  regarded  as  inherent  in  matter.  But  the  idea  of 
God  will  focus  itself  on  single  objects  as  centers  of  a 
spiritual  essence.  However  ludicrous  the  expression 
of  this  natural  impulse,  the  principle  is  legitimate. 
We  are  wont  to  make  one  place,  one  person,  one  ob- 
ject more  significant  than  another  in  our  worship,  in 
our  social,  commercial  and  political  life.  A  cheque  is 
but  a  bit  of  paper  and  ink,  yet  it* is  more.  A  national 
banner  is  but  a  bit  of  bunting,  yet  it  is  more.  So  corn, 
wine  and  oil,  the  dog  and  cow  have  played  a  part  in 
worship  for  ages.  Cointe  traces  the  domestication  of 
animals  and  plants,  the  basis  of  agriculture  and  indus- 
try, to  this  universal  adoration  in  primitive  religion. 
To  the  natural  expression  of  ideas  in  symbols  we  owe 
the  arts  of  writing,  painting  and  sculpture.  But  when 
the  spiritual  significance  is  lost  and  the  worship  of  the 
symbol  remains,  idolatry  is  the  result. 

IMMORTALITY   OF   THE   SOUL. 

The  immortality  of  the  soul  has  been  another  article 
in  ethnic  religion.  The  deification  of  dead  ancestors 
proves  it.  The  methods  of  interment  and  monumental 
inscriptions  shoAV  it.  The  Book  of  the  Dead  records 
the  belief  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  future  felicity 
and  woe,  rewards  and  punishments.  The  mysteries  of 
Isis,  Mithras,  Cybele  and  Eleusis  appealed  to  the  im- 
agination of  the  initiated  by  scenic  representations 
which  contrasted  the  states  of  the  good  and  the  bad  in 
the  other  world. 


IMMORTALITY   OP  THE   SOUL.  41 

Keferring  to  this  belief,  the  Greek  poet  Pindar 
says  : 

"  The  righteous  pass  a  tearless  age, 
The  wicked  are  in  frightful  pain." 

The  Tartarus  and  Elysium  pictured  by  Virgil,  Bishop 
Warburton  believes  to  be  an  implicit  copy  of  what 
these  esoteric  teachings  exhibited.  Dodona's  oracle, 
the  Babylonian,  Hellespontic  and  Erythrean  shrines 
were  centers  of  illumination,  in  some  sense  divine. 
Here  men,  like  Balaam  fourteen  centuries  before 
Christ,  sought  God,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  Him 
and  find  Him,  who  has  promised  to  every  nation  that 
he  who  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is  ac- 
cepted of  Him. 

Turn  to  India.  Her  monumental  records  are  said  to 
make  the  pyramids  seem  young.  Bailly  makes  their 
astronomy  five  thousand  years  old.  Vernon  Harcourt 
finds  their  ancient  traditions  supported  by  strongest 
linguistic  proofs,  and  in  their  mythologic  characters 
and  historic  remains,  the  solution  of  problems  involved 
in  the  history  of  Indo-Germanic  nations  in  general. 
The  Upanishads,  or  mystic  portion  of  the  Vedas,  re- 
veal a  heavenly  city,  palace,  throne,  river  and  gardens. 
The  city  of  Indra  is  forty  miles  high.  Buildings  of 
gold  and  precious  stones  are  there ;  fruits  and  flowers, 
perfume  and  beauty  by  the  banks  of  the  ageless  stream 
and  the  tree  of  Hya,  where  the  crown  of  eternal  youth 
is  given.  But  this  is  but  a  beginning.  Another  city, 
Vishnu's  home,  is  a  hundred  times  larger  than  Indra. 
Ascending  and  descending  souls  may  spend  uncounted 
years  in  their  migrations.  One  theory  makes  a  man 
pass  throiigh  eight  million  births.  Ample  accommo- 
dations for  shiners  of  high  and  low  degree  are  found 


42  RELIGION    IN    THE   EAST. 

in  twenty-one  hells.  Not  only  books,  but  plastic  aud 
pictorial  art  present  terrific  conceptions  of  physical 
torment  in  the  endless  life  beyond. 

HEATHEN  SACRIFICES. 

Human  sacrifices  prevailed  in  India  for  more  than 
two  thousand  years.  The  suttee  was  abolished  in 
1830,  after  not  a  little  debate,  for  England  had  prom- 
ised not  to  interfere  with  Hindu  religion.  While  the 
discussion  went  on,  for  a  long  time  there  were  from 
three  hundred  to  eight  hundred  widows  burned  alive 
each  year.*  In  the  temple  of  Heliopolis  three  men 
were  daily  .lain,  until  King  Amasis  ordered  the  burn- 
ing of  tapers  instead.  Standing  at  the  shrine  of  Ivarli 
at  Calcutta,  looking  at  the  bloody  floor  where  a  goat 
had  been  offered  to  a  god,  I  recalled  the  fact  of  human 
sacrifices,  and  saw  in  this  substitution  one  proof  of  the 
dominance  of  English  civilization. 

Voluntary  as  well  as  compulsory  offerings — not  of 
life  only,  but  what  the  giver  esteems  dearer  than  life, 
virginity — is  another  revolting  feature  of  ethnic  re- 
ligion. Arabian  maidens  once  were  wedded  to  a  god 
by  a  death  in  the  flames;  but  in  the  worship  of  My- 
litta  candidates  for  defloration  crowded  the  avenue  to 
the  temple  so  closely  that  it  was  difficult  for  one  to 
select  in  turn  his  partner.  Home  waited  for  years,  t  I 
saw  a  Hindu  at  Jeypore,  now  an  elder  in  a  Christian 
church,  who  once  was  a  participant  in  heathen  orgies. 
His  testimony  is  such  that  it  cannot  be  put  into  print. 
It  justifies  the  language  of  Bishop  Heber  as  to  India : 

' '  Where  every  prospect  pleases, 
And  only  man  is  VILE." 


*  Hindu  Literature  (E.  A.  Reed,  1891,  S.  C.  Griggs  &  Co.),  p.  66. 
t  Herodotus,  i.,  193.     De  Syria  Dca  (Lucian)  chap.  vi. 


RELIGION   A   BEGNANT   POWEH.  43 

Quoting  these  words  in  an  address  in  New  York,  a 
theosophist  .once  exclaimed,  "What"a$d/"  His  im- 
pudence was  only  equalled  by  his  ignorance.  People 
who  have  never  been  in  a  heathen  community,  and 
have  never  known  the  "depths  of  Satan,"  by  per- 
sonal inspection,  as  medical  men  may,  can  sneer  at 
facts,  but  the  sad  truth  remains,  for  all  that. 

KELIGION  A  KEGNANT  POWEE. 

Religion  enters  into  everything.  The  Hindus,  for 
example,  eat,  drink,  toil,  sin,  religiously.  Their  gods 
are  vile.  The  book  which  two-thirds  of  the  Hindus 
call  their  bible  is  untrauslateable  in  its  vileness.  The 
word  priest  is  used  as  a  climax,  when  other  words  of 
abuse  have  been  exhausted.  With  such  gods  and 
guides  what  can  be  expected  of  the  people  ?  Religion 
controls  all  their  activities.  It  is  not,  as  with  many  of 
us,  a  Sunday  matter,  but  an  all-pervasive,  ubiquitous 
and  imperious  power.  It  is  a  mighty  historic  force, 
the  growth  of  centuries,  gigantic  yet  flexible,  and  ac- 
commodating itself  to  varying  conditions.  It  has  been 
compared  to  an  immense  glacier,  slowly  moving  down 
from  a  mountain,  gathering  up  stones  and  debris,  yet 
adapting  itself  to  the  configuration  of  the  mountain. 
This  flexibility  characterizes  the  religious  system  of 
China,  and  so  unites  the  ethical,  physical  and  rneta-. 
physical  ;  morality,  idolatry  and  superstition  in  one 
mighty  controlling  powrr.  Strict  Confucianism  op- 
poses idolatry  and  inculcates  a  splendid  morality.  So 
the  pure,  exalted  Vedic  teachings  deserve  all  praise. 
But  neither  are  a  practical,  redeeming  force.  The 
Chinaman  recognizes  a  triple  compound  of  idolatry. 
He  makes  a  friendly  alliance  of  various  systems,  to 
suit  his  social  or  political  surroundings. 


44  RELIGION   IN   THE   EAST. 

He  dovetails,  as  Dr.  Du  Bose  expresses  it,  Confucian- 
ism, Buddhism  and  Taoism,  using  temple,  image  and 
ritual,  priest,  shrine  and  song,  as  convenience  or  policy 
may  suggest.  Theoretically,  the  first  is  the  State  re- 
ligion, and  its  temples  are  maintained  by  imperial 
revenues.  But  Buddhist  monasteries  are  also  endowed 
by  government,  and  deceased  dignitaries  of  state  be- 
come gods  in  Taoist  temples.  A  hundred  priests  of 
one  class  and  a  hundred  of  the  other,  with  the  man- 
darins between  them,  have  been  seen  at  one  time  and 
in  one  temple  engaged  in  worship,  just  as  in  Rome 
worshipping  senators  surrounded  Elagabalus  as  he 
celebrated  the  Syrian  worship  of  the  sun,  side  by  side, 
perhaps,  with  the  devotees  of  the  Babylonian  Mylitta, 
or  those  of  Isaic  and  Serapic  worship  from  the  Nile. 

Gibbon  was  not  mistaken  in  his  conception  of  the 
policy  of  paganism.  It  was  not  aggressive  and  pre- 
scriptive, but  it  utilized  superstition  as  a  power  more 
serviceable  than  armies.  The  gods  and  worship  of 
every  nation  had  a  place  in  the  Pantheon.  "  All  were 
considered  by  the  people  as  equally  true  ;  by  the  phil- 
osophers as  equally  false,  and  by  the  magistrate  as 
equally  useful." 

Look  at  Japan.  Is  its  heathenism  prescriptive  ? 
No  ;  it  is  tolerant  and  inclusive,  as  in  China.  Ancient 
Shinto,  without  sacred  books,  dogmas  and  moral  code, 
a  worship  of  deified  rulers  of  heroes,  was  a  political 
ceremonial.  In  the  sixth  century  after  Christ  its  de- 
crepitude began,  as  Buddhism  introduced  its  ritualistic 
attractions  and  ethical  features.  Shinto  temples  then 
came  to  be  served  by  the  priests  of  Buddha,  who  add- 
ed the  forms  of  their  own  worship.  Recently  a  tem- 
porary revival  of  Shinto  took  place,  but  "  It  had  no 
root  in  itself,  being  too  empty  and  jejune  to  influence 


RELIGION   A    REGNANT   POWER.  4o 

the  heart  of  men.  Buddhism  soon  rallied.  Though 
Shinto  is  still  the  official  cult — in  so  far  that  certain 
temples  are  maintained  out  of  public  moneys,  and  at- 
tendance of  certain  officials  is  required  from  time  to 
time  at  ceremonies  of  a.  half  religious,  half  courtly 
nature — the  whole  thing  is  now  a  mere  shadow." 
The  literary  classes  are  largely  indifferent  or  agnostic, 
but  the  common  people  remain  practically  idolaters. 
Social  life,  business  and  pleasure  are  all  tinctured  with 
heathenism.  The  Japanese  drama,  for  instance,  is 
traced  to  the  religious  dances  of  antiquity,  attended 
with  recitations,  comic  and  historic,  and  choric  songs. 
Japanese  literature,  rich  in  romances  in  which  court- 
esans play  their  part — not  all  debased  by  sinful  pas- 
sion, but  in  many  cases  in  obedience  to  the  strange 
demands  of  filial  piety — the  prevalence  of  concubinage 
throughout  the  Empire,  the  worship  of  the  seven  gods 
of  luck,  visits  to  the  graves  of  the  dead,  and  a  multi- 
tude of  other  customs  show  how  thoroughly  idolatrous 
the  Japanese  are  to-day.  So  simple  an  act  as  tea- 
drinking  has  a  heathen  history.  Seven  centuries  ago 
a  Buddhist  abbot  wrote  a  tract  on  the  subject,  intro- 
duced a  sacred  ceremonial,  told  how  to  make  and 
drink  the  infusion  amid  the  smoke  of  incense  and  beat 
of  drum  in  honor  of  the  dead.  Ever  since,  it  is  said, 
a  flavor  of  this  superstition  has  clung  to  tea-drinking, 
particularly  in  the  Zen  sect.  Action  and  gesture,  the 
washing  of  hands,  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  the  touching  of 
the  canister,  handling  flower  and  scroll,  with  other 
formalities,  have  been  fixed  by  priestly  ritualism. 

I  remember  how  pathetic  an  appeal  to  their  gods 
was  made  by  some  sailors  at  Canton,  who  were  trying 


*  Things  Japanese  (Professor  B.  H.  Chamberlain),  p.  311. 


46  RELIGION    IN    THE    EAST. 

to  raise  from  the  deck  a  new  must  into  position.  There 
were  a  dozen  of  them.  They  had  raised  it  by  means 
of  spiked  poles  to  a  perilous  angle.  It  halted  and 
hung  in  air,  as  did  the  red  monolith  at  Home,  three 
hundred  years  ago,  when  Bresca  shouted,  "  Wet  the 
ropes ! "  but  for  which  it  would  have  fallen.  At  this 
juncture  one  of  the  men  took  a  bunch  of  fire-crackers, 
apparently  at  hand  for  the  occasion,  and  exploded 
them.  It  was  an  invocation,  or  recognition  of  a  power 
beyond  their  own.  The  mast  slowly  rose  to  its  place. 
So  I  have  seen  my  boatwoman,  or  her  child,  light  the 
incense  before  the  miniature  shrine  as  we  started  on  a 
river  trip,  and  have  felt  again  how  all-pervasive  is  the 
religious  element  in  Eastern  life. 

One  who  comes  within  the  sphere  of  Asian  thought 
will  soon  learn  to  appreciate  this  feeling  in  dealing, 
not  only  with  idolaters,  but  with  native  converts. 
Social  usages,  business  relations,  political  life,  lan- 
guage itself,  nay,  the  very  air,  earth  and  sky  are  vehi- 
cles of  this  sentiment.  Nothing  is  too  high  or  too  low 
to  be  reached  by  it.  The  imaginative  faculty,  as  we 
have,  seen,  is  very  active  from  earliest  infancy.  Hel- 
lenic children  at  their  sports  cried  out  when  the  sun- 
shine was  obscured  by  a  passing  cloud,  "  Come  forth, 
beloved  Sun  !  "  as  if  it  were  a  playmate  hidden.*  So 
the  Oriental  to-day  lives  his  out-door  life  in  closer 
contact  with  nature  than  we.  Over  land  and  sea,  field 
and  forest,  grove  and  garden,  uncounted  deities  are 
brooding.  The  movements  of  the  wind  and  water,  of 
bird,  insect  or  reptile  are  .auguries  or  omens.  The 
drought  that  withers,  the  flood  that  overwhelms,  the 
mildew  and  murrain  that  destroy,  are  expressions  of  a 


*  Hellenes  (St.  John),  vol.  i.,  p.  149. 


UELIGION   A   11EGNANT   POWER.  4:7 

power  that  must  be  propitiated.  In  every  hamlet  in 
China,  during  the  first  moon,  the  god  of  agriculture  is 
worshipped  with  offerings  or  food,  fruit  and  flowers. 
Processions  are  formed  and  theatrical  exhibitions  are 
ordered  in  his  honor.  The  building  of  a  house,  the 
forming  of  a  business  partnership,  the  date  of  a  mar- 
riage, bridal  and  burial,  the  location  of  a  tomb,  feasts, 
games,  the  handicrafts  of  men,  domestic  employments 
and  affairs  of  state  are  all  governed  by  some  reference 
to  the  Unseen.  What  Ingraham  Kip  said  of  the  speech 
of  primitive  Christians,  in  his  Early  Conflicts  of  Chris- 
tianity, is  substantially  true  now :  "  The  phrases  of 
common  life  were  rilled  with  allusions  to  their  popular 
religion  ;  words  of  affection  and  worship  were  so  en- 
twined that  it  seemed  impossible  to  banish  the  one  and 
retain  the  other.  Good  wishes  became  chilled  and  un- 
meaning, when  they  dropped  the  customary  allusions 
to  the  gods  of  their  faith.  The  adoption  of  Christian- 
ity, therefore,  alienated  them  and  severed  the  dearest 
bonds  of  life."  As  then,  s«  now,  language  in  the  East 
is  everywhere  so  saturated  with  pagan  thought,  it  has 
to  be  remodelled.  It  is  a  cheering  fact  that  in  India 
and  elsewhere  the  English  tongue  has  ennobled,  where 
it  has  not  wholly  superseded,  the  vernacular  of  hea- 
thenism. 

This  brief  survey  points  to  a  practical  suggestion. 
We  are  not  to  approach  the  Oriental  in  an  intolerant 
or  disputatious  temper,  as  too  many  have  done,  in- 
sensitive to  influences  which  for  ages  have  moulded 
his  thought  and  life.  We  ye  not  to  be  so  impressed 
with  the  authority  of  our  belief  as  to  show  disdain  for 
his.  Paul,  at  Athens,  brg:in  with  a  compliment  rather 
than  a  taunt  :  "  I  perceive  that  in  all  things  you  are 
very  devout,"  We  may  recognize  this  worshipful 


•18  RELIGION    IN    THE    EAST. 

spirit  without  at  all  compromising  the  truth.  We  can 
adapt  our  thought  to  his  mental  horizon,  awaken  his 
interest,  equalize  his  sensibilities,  and  so  disarm  his 
opposition,  when  we  may  not  secure  his  acquiescence. 
An  educated  Japanese  who  has  spent  several  years  in 
America,  whom  I  met  at  Tokyo,  looking  at  the  matter 
from  the  position  of  an  influential  gentleman,  writes : 
"  Japan  is  already  tired  of  soothsayers,  theorists,  ser- 
mon-makers. I  believe  that  I  am  speaking  the  senti- 
ments of  my  nation  when  I  tell  you  that  we  care  at 
present  more  for  earnestness  and  conviction  than  for 
views.  We  would  see  men  who  love  iis  and  give  them- 
selves for  our  sakes,  as  the  Saviour  of  mankind  did ; 
those  wiio  have  had  spiritual  experiences  as  practical 
realities,  and  who  can  treat  of  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
just  as  definitely  as  that  which  they  have  seen,  touched 
and  felt.  Let  each  be  thoroughly  convinced  of  what 
he  believes,  else  the  sharp-witted  heathen  will  not 
hearken  to  him.  We  need  here  only  men  of  moral 
earnestness,  who  can  give  fruits  of  their  own  experi- 
ence, taught  through  discipline  and  mental  struggles 
of  many  years." 


CHAPTER  VI. 
LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE  AND  ART. 

"  The  Past  shall  always  wear 
A  glory  from  being  far." 

Tennyson  is  right.  There  is  no  lens  like  distance. 
It  magnifies  and  gives  enchantment  to  the  view.  The 
antiquity  of  Eastern  lore  invites  attention.  But  the 
opulence  of  these  treasures  is  more  than  their  age. 
Let  us  glance  at  a  few  items  of  this  wealth.  The 
author  of  What  can  India  teach  us?  has  well  said 
that  no  "Western  thinker  can  there  be  an  intellectual 
exile,  for  in  India  the  human  mind  has  busied  itself 
with  life's  greatest  problems,  and  found  solutions  that 
deserve  our  consideration.  There,  an  intellectual  world 
can  be  studied  from  the  beginning  of  national  thought, 
along  its  historic  development  up  to  the  highest  stages. 
There,  the  most  subtle  philosophies,  the  most  elaborate 
laws  and  the  most  primitive  religions  have  had  their 
home  for  ages.  The  study  of  ancient  Yedic  verse  has 
laifl  the  basis  of  a  science  of  mythology.  It  has  cleared 
up  questions  of  philology,  such  as  the  growth  and  de- 
cay of  dialects  and  the  mixture  of  languages.  It  has 
shown  us  legends  older  than  the  time  of  Solomon. 

THE  SANSCRIT. 

Through  the  whole  history  of  this  part  of  the  Ori- 
ent, says  Max  Muller,  there  runs  a  highway  of  litera- 
ture for  thous-uxls  of  years,  in  which  are  found  the 


50  THE    SANSCRIT. 

true  representatives  of  the  people  from  age  to  age. 
The  record  of  their  noble  thought  is  instructive,  so  are 
their  puerilities  and  monstrosities.  The  ten  thousand 
MSS.  of  the  Sanscrit  now  in  existence  have  a  human 
interest.  Though  for  more  than  twenty  centuries  it 
has  been  what  we  call  a  dead  language,  it  has  given 
life  and  soul  to  all  the  living  tongues  of  that  wide  em- 
pire, both  Aryan  and  Dravidiau.  "  Such  is  the  mar- 
velous continuity  of  the  past  and  present,  Sanscrit 
may  be  said  to  be  still  the  only  language  that  is 
spoken  over  the  whole  extent  of  that  vast  country ; 
more  widely  understood  in  India  than  Latin  was  in 
Europe  at  the  time  of  Dante.  Whenever  I  receive  a 
letter  from  a  learned  man  in  India,  it  is  written  in 
Sanscrit.  Whenever  there  is  a  controversy  on  ques- 
tions of  law  and  religion,  the  pamphlets  in  India  are 
written  in  Sanscrit."  Thousands  of  Brahmins,  adds 
Max  Muller,  can  repeat  from  memory  the  entire  Rig- 
veda  and  other  books.  Recitations  of  these  ancient 
epic  poems  are  given  to  crowds  in  village  temples, 
continuing  weeks  or  even  months.  Journals  are  pub- 
lished in  this  tongue,  commentaries  and  treatises  on 
philosophy. 

Moreover,  ease,  purity  and  elegance  in  the  use  of 
the  dialects  in  common  use  come  from  acquaintance 
with  this  parent  tongue.  This  is  the  most  perfect  efer 
known,  according  to  Bosworth,  and  very  nearly  a 
primitive  language,  inasmuch  as  all  its  words  are  com- 
posed of  its  own  elements,  free  from  exotic  terms.  It 
is  the  polished  tongue,  as  the  name  indicates.  It  em- 
balms not  only  epic,  lyric,  didactic  and  dramatic  poe- 
try, but  philosophic  criticism,  the  germs  of  jurispru- 
dence, of  dramatical  science,  linguistic  analysis,  lexi- 
cography, rhetoric,  music,  mathematics,  astronomy 


LANGUAGE,    LITERATURE    A!sTD    ART.  51 

and  medicine.  It  has  been  called  the  mediator  and 
interpreter  of  the  differences  which  divided  Greek, 
Latin,  Slavonic  and  Teutonic  tongues.  As  soon  as 
"  the  eldest  sister  of  them  all  stepped  in,  there  came 
light,  warmth  and  mutual  recognition.  They  all  ceased 
to  be  strangers,  and  each  fell  of  its  own  accord  into  its 
right  place." 

Oriental  literature,  read  in  the  Orient,  has  a  plenary 
significance  and  beauty  in  keeping  with  the  brilliancy 
and  tropical  luxuriance  about  you.  Last  year  I  sailed 
from  Hong  Kong  to  Bombay  and  back,  day  after  day, 
for  six  thousand  miles,  floating  over  Indian  seas  that 
seemed  charmed  into  stillness,  where  the  waves  slept 
and  the  heavens  were  bright,  surrounded  by  luxurious 
comfort,  with  ample  opportunity  for  reading  and  study. 
I  remember  how  impressively  the  fact  came  home  to 
me  one  day  that  seventeen  centuries  before  Christ  and 
seventeen  centuries  after  Christ,  the  god  of  thunder 
was  invoked  by  the  same  name,  by  Hindus  of  the  In- 
dus and  peasants  on  the  borders  of  Prussia.  This  bit 
of  linguistic  unity  taught  me  the  continuity  of  life  and 
language  through  all  time.  It  acted  like  a  mystic  word 
to  introduce  me  into  the  hidden  past  and  to  show 
prostrate  worshippers  on  the  plains  of  India  before 
Moses  was  born,  recognizing  the  same  deity  that  men 
in  modern  times  have  ignorantly  adored.  It  is  "  as  if 
we  saw  the  blood  suddenly  beginning  to  flow  again 
through  the  veins  of  old  mummies,  or  as  if  Egyptian 
statues  were  to  speak  again.  All  that  is  old  becomes 
new,  all  that  is  new  becomes  old,  and  that  one  word, 
Parganya,  seems,  like  a  charm,  to  open  before  our  eyes 
the  cave  or  cottage  in  which  the  fathers  of  the  Aryan 
race — our  own  fathers,  whether  we  live  on  the  Baltic 
or  the  Indian  ocean — are  seen  gathered  together  tak- 


52  THE   SEMITIC   TONGUES. 

ing  refuge  from  the  buckets  of  Pargauya."  But  we 
are  only  on  the  threshold  of  this  department.  Other 
landmarks  of  study  may  be  rapidly  noted. 

THE   SEMITIC   TONGUES. 

Professor  Noldeke  of  Strasburg  sees  a  closer  kinship 
between  these  than  exists  between  Indo-European 
languages.  The  Hebrew,  Phoenician,  Assyrian,  Ara- 
maic, Arabic  and  Ethiopic  show  common  characteris- 
tics in  the  order  and  form  of  sentences,  in  vowel 
changes,  consonant  roots  and  verbal  stems.  The  first 
two  are  dialects  of  one  language.  The  Aramaic,  as  a 
cultivated  language,  became  dominant  before  Christ, 
and  was  used  by  Arabs  before  theirs  had  been  reduced 
to  writing ;  but  after  ten  centuries  it  was  supplanted 
by  the  Arabic.  Islam  raised  this  to  the  dignity  of  a 
sacred  tongue  when  Bedouins  brought  half  the  Avorld 
under  their  sway.  It  became  the  vehicle  of  poetry, 
law,  religion,  business  and  science,  while  Assyrian — of 
close  kin  to  Hebrew — survived  the  destruction  of  Nin- 
eveh as  a  sacerdotal  speech,  the  vernacular  of  the 
official  and  scholar. 

Continuous  immigration  into  Africa  by  various  Se- 
mitic people  with  diverse  dialects,  introduced  heter- 
ogeneous elements  and  linguistic  corruptions  into  the 
languages  of  that  region.  The  roots  of  the  Coptic  in 
Egypt,  and  its  grammatic  structure,  bear  the  impress 
of  the  Semitic,  while  comparative  philologists,  pointing 
out  its  monosyllabism,  see  a  similarity  to  the  Syriac. 
Stuart  Poole  of  the  British  Museum  says  that  Egyp- 
tian literature  is  disappointing.  "  So  unsystematic  is 
it  that  it  has  not  given  to  us  the  connected  history  of 
a  single  reign,  or  a  really  intelligible  account  of  a 
single  campaign.  The  religious  documents  are  still 


LANGUAGE,   LlTEltAlDKE  AND   AKT.  53 

less  orderly  than  the  historical.  It  is  only  by  the 
severe  work  of  some  of  the  ablest  critics  during  the 
last  fifty  years,  that  from  these  disjointed  materials  a 
consistent  whole  has  been  constructed.  The  Book  of 
the  Dead  must  remain  a  marvel  of  confusion  and  pov- 
erty of  thought.  The  temple  inscriptions  are  singu- 
larly stilted  and  wanting  in  variety,  but  the  papyri 
contain  some  hymns  which  are  of  a  finer  style." 

EGYPTIAN  ART. 

The  country  and  climate  afforded  the  best  means  of 
symbolizing  the  leading  idea  of  Egyptian  religion  in 
material  forms  of  life.  Life  after  death  \vas  that  idea, 
and  it  found  expression  in  the  construction  of  tombs 
as  lasting  as  the  rocks  on  which  they  rested.  He 
sees  the  double  origin  of  the  race  in  the  contradic- 
tions of  their  character,  the  bright  elements  of  Ni- 
gritian  temperament  shadowed  by  Semitic  solemnity, 
and  the  generous  qualities  of  Semites  perverted  by  the 
lower  impulses  of  Nigritians.  Plain  in  dress  and  sim- 
ple in  food,  they  were  luxurious  in  ornaments  and 
given  to  excess  in  wine ;  scrupulous  as  to  family  ties, 
careless  as  to  morals.  While  making  the  construction 
of  a  tomb  the  chief  object  in  life,  and  the  funeral  the 
most  costly  personal  event,  the  Egyptians  delighted  in 
music,  dancing  and  caricature,  even  in  the  scenes  of 
a  burial.  Their  art  is  not  florid  and  glaring,  but  in 
keeping  with  its  serious  aim,  which  is  religious  and 
historic.  The  stately  shaft  may  be  reeded,  fluted  or 
embellished  with  grouped  clusters  of  the  lotus,  but  its 
massive  grandeur  remains.  While  Arabic  art  did  not 
allow  animal  figures,  Egyptian  lions  of  Gebel  Barkal, 
now  in  the  British  Museum,  are  regarded  the  finest 
idealization  of  animal  forms  that  any  age  has  pro- 


54  EGYPTIAN  ART. 

duced.  Professor  Hayter  Lewis  of  London  University 
admires  the  early  Assyrian  art,  and  notes  the  delicacy 
and  truthfulness  of  treatment,  especially  in  the  ani- 
mals. He  differs  from  that  hater,  Ruskin,  who  says 
"  mud-bred  onion-eating  creatures  built  Nineveh  after 
a  monarch's  design."  But  then,  he  thought  the  orna- 
mentation of  the  Alhambra  was  detestable.  Tastes 
differ. 

Oriental  languages  and  art  are  chiefly  instructive  as 
records  of  history  and  mirrors  of  thought,  apart  from 
intrinsic  excellencies  or  defects.  The  civil,  mortuary 
and  domestic  architecture  of  the  East  reflect  the  life  of 
the  people,  indicate  climatic  influences  and  mark  so- 
cial, religious  and  political  epochs.  As  Buddhism 
modified  Indian  art,  epitomizing  in  metal,  wood  and 
stone  the  degrading  conceptions  of  its  cult,  so  Ionian 
art  left  its  refining  influence  on  sculpture  long  after 
the  Greek  invasion,  327  B.  C.  Hellenic  ideas  of  beauty 
are  embodied  in  the  statuary  of  the  Punjab  and  the 
sun  temple  of  the  Orissa  shore.  Then  the  invasions  of 
Mahornetanism,  from  A.  D.  664  onward,  have  left  their 
mark  on  Hindu  art,  down  to  the  end  of  the  Mogul 
dynasty.  As  I  looked  on  the  Pearl  Mosque  and  the 
Taj  at  Agra,  or  the  superb  beauty  of  buildings  at  Del- 
hi, studying  each  fanciful  foliation,  curious  wreath, 
scroll  and  fret,  with  spandrils  inlaid  with  jasper, 
sapphire,  amethyst  and  other  precious  stones,  I  was 
reading  human  history  more  than  merely  analyzing 
architecture. 

We  of  the  West  are  restless  and  capricious,  governed 
by  mercantile  considerations  and  by  fashion  plates  in 
our  aesthetic  temper.  We  lack  the  finer  instincts  of 
less  cultivated  people.  Jarves  says  that  "  A  Polyne- 
sian, Hindu  or  native  of  Japan  sucks  in  with  his 


LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE  AND  ART.  55 

mother's  milk  a  sense  so  keen  and  clairvoyant  in  re- 
spect to  ornament,  that  he  appears  as  if  endowed  with 
a  special  faculty  for  it  of  an  almost  spiritual  apprehen- 
sion. Textile  fabrics  made  by  Oriental  fingers  and 
toes  surpass  those  of  Europe  made  with  the  best  scien- 
tific machinery.  The  subtlest  laws  of  design  and  col- 
oring are  shown  in  their  construction,  as  also  in  the 
enamels,  porcelains  and  lacquer  work,  which  as  far 
surpass  the  dainty  prettiiiess  of  Sevres  and  Dresden  as 
their  porcelain  is  finer  than  ordinary  crockery.  Their 
fancy  in  design  and  color  is  based  on  a  closer  insight 
into  nature  than  Europeans  display  in  their  decorative 
art.  It  seems  equally  founded  in  realism  and  mysti- 
cism. While  nothing  can  be  more  accurate  than  their 
observation  and  comprehension  of  the  forms  of  life, 
they  baptize  facts  in  the  waters  of  an  imagination  that 
has  no  counterpart  in  the  European  mind  for  versatil- 
ity of  invention  and  strangeness  of  types." 

THE  VALUE   OF  MUSEUMS. 

The  suggestion  of  Jarves  as  to  the  value  of  ethno- 
logical museums  as  moral  teachers  is  timely.  The 
museum  is  a  vivid,  tangible  revelation,  a  truthful  ex- 
position of  the  character  of  a  people,  and  so  an  inter- 
preter of  enigmas  of  history.  It  levels  vanity  and 
supplants  pride  ;  shows  the  good  and  evil  without  dis- 
guise, and  dispels  misconceptions.  India  itself  has 
been  called  a  living  ethnological  museum.  So  is 
Egypt  and  Asia  Minor,  as  well  as  the  Far  East.  The 
gift  of  Mr.  Schiff  of  New  York,  a  large-hearted  Semite 
and  promoter  of  Semitic  study,  lays  the  foundation  of 
a  Semitic  Museum  at  Harvard  University.  The  recent 
opening  of  such  a  treasure-house  of  Oriental  literature 
and  art  is  an  evidence  of  the  awakened  interest  in 


56  THE  VALUE   OF  MUSEUMS. 

Eastern  Life  already  referred  to.  Here  are  rare  He- 
brew, Arabic  and  Syriac  MSS.,  probably  the  best  col- 
lection of  photographs,  finely  inscribed  Babylonish 
cylinders  of  clay,  Assyrian  tablets  recording  the  story 
of  creation  and  the  flood,  books  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
and  the  stone  monument  of  Shalmaneser  II.,  with  the 
pictured  effigies  of  the  captive  Israelites  bringing  him 
tribute. 

Wealth  expended  in  creating  and  endowing  such  an 
institution  is  a  princely  offering  to  sound  learning,  and 
directly  promotive  of  the  highest  culture  of  a  Christian 
community.  Professor  Bawlinson  has  noted  the  health- 
ful reaction  in  sentiment  since  1863,  when  one  of  the 
oldest  English  reviews  expressed  a  scornful  indiffer- 
ence to  Oriental  studies,  and  attempted  to  belittle  the 
work  of  Champollion  and  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson.  He 
would  have  these  studies  a  part  of  the  university 
course,  and  especially  urges  the  English-speaking  peo- 
ple, who  pride  themselves  upon  an  open  bible,  to  be- 
come more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Land  that 
gave  us  the  Book. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
LANGUAGE,  LITERATURE  AND  ART. 

It  was  at  MACAO,  .tliat  picturesque  city  by  the  sea— 
the  Gem  of  the  Orient,  as  this  delightful  sanitarium  is 
called  by  Sir  John  Bowriiig — that  some  of  the  choicest 
works  of  modern  sinalogues  first  came  in  my  way. 
For  half  a  century  this  quaint,  drowsy  old  Portuguese 
town  has  been  the  retreat  of  scholars  and  missionary 
workers  from  time  to  time,  driven  by  summer  heat  or 
political  disturbances  in  Canton  and  elsewhere  to  seek 
a  refuge  in  its  quiet  and  salubrious  quarters.  I  well 
remember  with  what  pleasure  I  found  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  large,  lordly  house  which  was  my  abode — 
built  and  once  occupied  by  a  foreign  nobleman — a 
library  of  volumes  illustrative  of  Chinese  life  and  liter- 
ature. This  was  an  attraction  that  rivalled  the  gar- 
dens of  Camoens.  The  brilliant  Praya  and  the  pano- 
rama from  the  lofty  fort  and  lighthouse  were  not  so 
enticing  as  these  well-worn  books  whose  contents  cov- 
ered centuries  of  Oriental  life. 

The  language  and  literature  of  China  have  been  so 
fully  treated  by  those  early  pioneers,  Gutzlaff,  Morri- 
son, Marshman,  Medhurst,  Milne,  Bridgeman  and 
Williams,  not  to  speak  of  Edkins,  Faber  and  others 
still  living,  and  other  Oriental  scholars  here  and  in  Eu- 
rope, that  the  student  of  Eastern  life  will  not  lack  for 
materials.  Only  a  few  suggestions  will  be  offered.  The 
antiquity,  the  fecundity  and  the  unique  features  of 


58  LANGUAGE,   LITERATURE    AND   ART. 

Chinese  thought  and  expression  arrest  attention.  Here 
is  the  most  archaic  form  of  language ;  first  hiero- 
glyphic, but  now  ideophonetic,  every  word  a  root  and 
each  root  a  word.  It  is  monosyllabic,  without  an 
alphabet,  devoid  of  inflexion  or  even  agglutination, 
having  nouns  without  gender  or  declension,  and  verbs 
without  conjugation.  The  thirty  or  forty  thousand 
characters  are  represented  to  the  ear  by  about  five 
hundred  syllabic  sounds.  To  meet  this  exigency,  six, 
eight  or  ten  tones  are  used.  Thus  confusion  grows 
confounded.  The  bewildered  student  is  ready  to  adopt 
the  belief  of  some  that  this  language  is  the  work  of  the 
devil.  It  certainly  is  not  wanting  in  diabolical  feat- 
ures. Some  saintliness  of  temper  is  needed  for  its 
study  and  a  great  deal  of  heroism  for  its  mastery. 

THE  GREAT  CHINESE  WALL. 

This  perplexing  tongue  is  the  real  barrier  which 
encircles  the  whole  empire,  in  comparison  with  which 
the  massive  masonry  built  B.  C.  204,  by  the  Napoleon 
of  China,  for  fifteen  hundred  miles  along  its  northern 
boundary,  is  but  a  trivial  affair.  "  Its  history  has  al- 
ways been  so  completely  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  it  did  not  enter  into  the  study  of  those  civiliza- 
tions which  have  entered  into  our  own."  So  wrote 
LeNormant  to  justify  his  omission  of  China  in  his 
Historic  Ancienne  de  V Orient. 

The  vertical  position  of  the  characters  is  one  sign  of 
the  great  antiquity  of  the  tongiie.  Like  the  Chaldean, 
the  Chinese  used  some  long  leaf,  like  the  papyrus,  or 
stalks,  for  writing  purposes.  This  was  befors  clay  tab- 
lets came  into  use,  and  more  enduring  materials  for 
cuneiform  inscriptions.  A  knowledge  of  the  antique 
style  of  writing  is  needed  to  understand  ancient  clas- 


BURNING   OF  BOOKS.  59 

sics.  Between  that  and  the  colloquial  is  the  academic, 
which  is  less  concise  than  the  former  and  less  diffuse 
than  the  latter.  The  training  of  youth  in  the  study 
of  arbitrary  characters  and  memorizing  unmeaning 
sounds  has  a  dwarfing  and  sterilizing  influence,  fitly 
compared  to  the  trees  wrhich  are  stunted  and  put  into 
jars.  Their  deformity  of  appearance  is  in  keeping 
with  the  insipidity  of  their  fruit.  Still,  we  must  ad- 
mire the  patient  industry  that  produced  a  mass  of 
literature  amazing  in  extent.  Think,  for  example,  of  a 
single  treatise  on  therapeutics  in  forty  volumes,  with 
references  to  over  seven  hundred  other  medical  works ! 
In  the  Imperial  palace  there  is  a  manuscript  encyclo- 
pedia in  22,937  volumes,  the  result  of  eight  thousand 
years'  toil.  Two  thousand  men  wTote  on  it  for  four 
years.  Three  centuries  later,  in  1726,  The  Cream  of 
Chinese  Literature,  so  called,  was  published  in  five 
thousand  volumes.  It  can  be  seen  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum. 

BURNING  OF  BOOKS. 

But  for  the  memorizing  power  of  native  scholars 
much  of  China's  literature  would  not  now  be  in  ex- 
istence, for  the  same  emperor  who  made  himself  fam- 
ous by  building  the  Great  Wall  made  himself  infamous 
by  a  wholesale  burning  of  books  throughout  the  em- 
pire. Science,  art,  history  and  records  of  early  ages 
were  destroyed.  Four  hundred  and  sixty  scholars 
were  detected  in  trying  to  secrete  and  save  their  liter- 
ary treasures.  They  were  put  to  death  by  burial 
alive.  Yet  there  were  others  who  knew  the  Confucian 
classics  so  thoroughly  that  "  the  whole  were  soon 
faultlessly  reproduced."  The  successor  of  this  vandal 
was  a  friend  of  learning,  and  did  much  to  repair  the 


60  LANGUAGE,   LITERATURE   AND   ART. 

mischief  of  the  Son  of  H — (not  Heaven)  who  caUed 
himself  the  first  emperor  of  united  China.  A  revival 
of  letters  foUowed.  From  hollow  trees,  caverns  of  the 
earth  and  beds  of  rivers,  even,  and  from  the  lips  of 
aged  men  and  women  came  contributions,  verbal,  in- 
scribed and  printed.  One  blind  man  knew  by  heart 
a  good  portion  of  the  Book  of  History.  Tablets  of 
wood,  engraved  bamboo  sticks  and  priceless  books, 
concealed  at  risk  of  life,  were  brought  forth.  After 
two  centuries,  eleven  thousand  volumes  were  repro- 
duced. 

"  All  China  is  an  immense  library,"  said  the  great 
traveler,  Hue.     Maxims  and  sentences  are  inscribed 
on  shops,  houses,  pagodas,  tribunals  and  monuments. 
Not  only  in  the  homes  of  the  rich,  in  corridor  and 
apartment,  on  teacup,  plate,  vase  and  fan  do  you  see 
quotations  from  various  classics,  but  in  the  hovels  of 
the  poor  you  find  the  cheap  scroll  of  red  paper  on  the 
wall,  with  large  characters  to  catch  the  eye  and  im- 
press the  mind.     There  is  a  great  bronze  bell  at  Pe- 
king, forty -five  feet  in  circumference,  cast  five  hundred 
years  ago.     There  is  inscribed  on  the  surface,  inside 
and  out,  an  entire  classic,  containing  eighty-four  thou- 
sand characters.     The  eye  is  everywhere  appealed  to. 
He  who  runs  may  read.     The  directions  given  to  the 
Jews  seem  to  have  been,  in  substance,  given  to  the 
Chinese  by  their  early  sages,  to  teach  their  precepts 
sitting  in  the  house,  walking  by  the  way,  lying  down, 
rising  up  ;  by  inscribing  them  on  their  door-posts  and 
gates,  and  binding  as  a  sign  upon  the  hand  and  front- 
lets between  the  eyes. 

Any  analysis  of  the  Nine  Classics  or  of  poetic  and 
dramatic  literature  in  China  is  not  expected  in  this 
brief  manual,  the  simple  aim  of  which  is  to  point  out 


CHINESE    ARCHITECTURE.  61 

lines  of  study.  But  it  may  be  said,  in  passing,  that 
the  seed  thoughts  of  all  that  is  revered  by  Chinese  in 
their  religion,  history  and  government  will  be  found 
in  the  Shoo  king  or  Book  of  History.  It  is  also  the 
foundation  of  their  tactics,  music  and  astronomy.  It 
covers  a  period  from  about  2350  B.  C.  to  721  B.  C. 
In  its  restoration  after  the  Burning  of  the  Books, 
twenty-eight  of  the  one  hundred  sections  were  taken 
from  the  lips  of  a  blind  man.  Fortunately  a  complete 
copy  was  found  secreted  in  the  wall  of  Confucius' 
house  when  it  was  demolished,  140  B.  C.* 

It  was  during  the  revival  of  learning,  200  B.  C.  to 
200  A.  D.  that  changes  in  writing  were  introduced. 
Silk  was  used  for  valuable  records,  and  paper,  made 
from  bark  and  hemp,  also  manufactured.  Ink  was  in- 
vented to  take  the  place  of  brick  dust  and  water.  The 
bamboo  tablet  and  stylus  gave  place  to  the  hair  pencil 
and  paper  page.  In  593  A.  D.  Wanti  decreed  the  en- 
graving on  wood  and  printing  of  certain  documents. 
Moveable  types  were  made  by  Pe  Ching  about  five 
hundred  years  later.  He  engraved  each  character  in 
fine  clay,  made  in  plates,  the  thickness  of  money. 
These  were  hardened  by  fire  and  cemented  to  an  iron 
frame  when  used  for  printing. 

CHINESE  AKCHITECTURE. 

There  is  little  to  be  said  on  this  point.  China,  Fer- 
gusson  suggests,  has  no  hereditary  nobility  and  no 
dominant  priesthood,  such  as  in  Italy  and  elsewhere 


Death  is  threatened  any  family  who  takes  the  patronymic?  "Koong." 
(Koong  Futze,  master  Koong).  So  the  name  Confucius  is  sacred  in 
its  isolation,  not  noininis  umlira,  during  twenty-two  centuries.  It  is 
the  oldest  family  on  the  globe.  Some  of  the  sixty-third  generation 
were  recently  baptized  by  Presbyterian  missionaries. 


62  LANGUAGE,   LITERATURE   AND  ART. 

have  given  inspiration  to  artistic  creations.  Power 
she  has,  ability  as  well.  Massive  walls,  bridges  and 
engineering  works  are  seen  everywhere.  With  her  re- 
dundant population  China  might  have  reared  many 
monumental  works  like  those  of  Egypt,  which  she  so 
much  resembles  in  age,  in  history,  customs  and  re- 
ligious ideas,  such  as  reverence  for  the  dead.  Senti- 
ment and  imagination  are  wanting,  however,  which  lie 
at  the  source  of  this  art.  The  materials  of  the  Great 
Wall  would  build  a  wall  twice  round  the  globe,  six  feet 
high  and  two  feet  thick.  Williams  says  that  this  mon- 
ument of  human  toil  and  unproductiveness,  with  its 
cloud-capped  towers  standing  in  solemn  stillness  where 
they  were  stationed  two  thousand  years  ago,  as  if  or- 
dered to  await  the  return  of  their  builders,  and  its  dike 
below,  leaping  gorges  and  scaling  cliffs  in  exuberance 
of  power  till  it  vanishes  at  the  horizon,  cannot  but  in- 
spire respect  for  a  people  who  could  build  it. 

Gwilt  thinks  that  the  tent  gave  them,  as  all  Tartar 
tribes,  the  original  idea  of  their  pyramidal  roof,  which 
is  high-pitched,  timber-framed,  with  concave  slopes 
and  projecting  eaves.  But  it  is  objected  that  the 
Chinese  are  the  furthest  removed  from  nomadic,  tent 
life  than  any  race  on  the  earth.  The  great  rain  fall  at 
times,  and  the  glare  of  the  sun  at  other  times,  will  ex- 
plain the  features  of  the  roof  without  the  above  hy- 
pothesis. The  arch  was  known  and  used  in  bridges, 
it  is  believed,  even-  before  Pelasgian  builders  made 
their  rude  attempts  in  the  same  direction. 

The  pagoda  is  sometimes  a  family  memorial,  and 
sometimes  a  pillar  of  victory,  commemorating  a  his- 
toric event.  It  may  be  reared  for  the  use  of  the  geo- 
mancer.  I  spent  some  months  not  far  from  one  which 
was  built  by  Moslems.  It  is  about  as  high  as  Bunker 


COBEA  AND   JAPAN.  63 

Hill  Monument.  Twice  a  year  worship  at  dawn  was 
had  with  loud  invocations.  There  are  about  two 
thousand  pagodas  in  the  Empire,  from  five  to  thirteen 
stories  in  height.  The  oldest  was  put  up  seventeen 
centuries  ago.  Most  of  them  are  in  a  ruined  condition. 
The  promises  of  the  diviner  that  these  towers  draw 
luck  do  not  draw  funds  for  their  repair. 

The  pavilion,  with  its  pillared  veranda,  and  the 
gateway  are  suggestive  of  Chinese  thought.  Form, 
color  and  ornamentation  show  rude  tastes.  Some  de- 
tails are  meritorious,  but  as  works  of  art,  these,  as  well 
as  domestic  and  temple  decorations,  are  inferior  in 
style.  Proportion,  perspective,  naturalness  and  Ele- 
gance are  disregarded.  The  natives  themselves  admit 
a  decline  in  painting  and  sculpture  the  last  fifteen  cen- 
turies. Their  devotion  to  material  concerns  has  made 
them  increasingly  indifferent  to  higher  interests. 

In  this  connection  it  is  worthy  of  note  to  compare 
the  opposite  influence  of  Confucianism  and  Buddhism 
on  industrial  life  in  the  East.  The  former  has  fos- 
tered feudalism,  caste  and  ancestor  worship  ;  the  latter 
has  moulded  the  working  classes,  softening  their  man- 
ners, as  Rein  suggests,  training  up  quiet,  patient  toil- 
ers in  field  and  workshop.  Both  now  feel  the  new 
breath  of  a  Christian  civilization,  which  fact  recalls 
the  lines  of  Schiller  : 

"  Das  Alte  stiirzt  es  andert  sich  die  Zeit, 
Und  neues  Leben  bluht  aus  den  ruinen." 

COREA  AND  JAPAN. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  Hermit  Nation  warned  out  of 
her  waters  the  American  admiral  with  these  words : 
"  Corea  boasts  four  thousand  years  of  history  and  is 
satisfied  with  it,  wishing  no  other."  To-day  an  Ameri- 


64  LANGUAGE,    LITEHATU11E    AND    ART. 

can,  Colonel  Greathouse,  is  summoned  to  her  court  as 
an  adviser  of  government.  On  her  soil  may  be  settled 
the  problem  of  supremacy  between  the  triple  powers 
of  Japan,  China  and  Kussia.  The  Dragon  and  the 
Bear  especially  have  their  eye  on  Corea.  It  is  a 
pleasant  land,  the  Italy  of  the  Far  East,  the  north- 
eastern monsoon  region  and  the  kingdom  of  the  mag- 
nolia and  camellia.  The  straits  are  but  fourteen  fath- 
oms deep  which  separate  it  from  the  Sunrise  Laud, 
and  Japan  looks  upon  the  twelve  or  fifteen  millions  of 
Corea  as  naturally  related  to  her  own  forty  millions. 
The  glimpse  I  had  of  these  shores,  and  some  facts  of 
her  liistory  are  referred  to  elsewhere.*  The  Land  of 
the  Morning  Calm  has  already  begun  to  feel  the  throb 
of  the  outer  world. 

Philologists  assumeVi  kinship  between  the  Japanese 
language  and  the  Ural-Altaic  tongues.  They  have  not 
proved  their  postulate.  The  agglutinative  structure  of 
the  Japanese  links  it  with  the  Corean,  but  it  has  no 
clear  relationship  with  any  Asiatic  tongue.  As  English 
embodies  a  vast  number  of  Greek  and  Latin  words,  so 
the  Japanese  has  adopted  uncounted  Chinese  words. 
Chinese  classics  have  been  studied  there  for  seven- 
teen centuries,  so  historians  of  Jap.an  affirm,  and  they 
still  have  a  prominence  in  academic  studies.  There  is 
no  such  marked  difference  in  provincial  dialects  as  in 
China.  One  with  the  Tokyo  tongue  will  have  little 
difficulty  anywhere.  The  gutteral  patois  of  the  Aino 
tribes  is,  however,  intelligible  to  themselves  alone. 
The  story  of  these  fifteen  thousand  hairy  aborigines  is 
well  told  by  Miss  Bird  in  her  Unbeaten  Tracks  in 
Japan.  Japanese  honorifics  are  of  prime  importance 


Out-door  Life  in  the  Orient.     Dr,  E.  P.  Thwing.     Hurst  &  Co. 


LITERATURE    IN    JAPAN.  65 

if  one  would  stand  well  in  the  people's  esteem.  Your 
verbal  and  grammatical  attitude  is  a  matter  of  equal 
concern  with  your  bodily  bearing,  voico  and  gesture. 
Your  style  of  speech  is  three-fold,  suited  to  your  su- 
periors, inferiors  and  equals.  The  use  of  the  personal 
pronoun  and  the  .verb  varies  according  to  the  rank  of 
the  person  addressed.  The  honorific  San  is  used  even 
by  children  at  play.  The  military,  as  well  as  the  liter- 
ary class,  employ  not  a  few  verbal  embellishments. 
Eecent  acquaintance  with  Western  languages  has  had, 
of  course,  its  influence  on  Japanese.  Many  new  words 
are  coined. 

LITERATURE  IX  JAPAN. 

Heathen  legends  and  cosmogonies  make  up  the 
earliest  works  extant.  The  date  of  the  oldest  history 
is  711  A.  D.  The  Lord  of  Mito  (1622-1700)  was  a 
patron  of  learning,  and  directed  the  preparation  of  the 
History  of  Japan,  a  work  published  in  two  and  forty 
Volumes.  The  place  of  women  in  the  literature  of  this 
land  is  a  significant  fact.  "  A  very  large  proportion  of 
the  best  writings  of  the  best  age  of  Japanese  literature 
was  the  work  of  women  ;  and  the  names  of  numerous 
female  poets  and  authors  are  quoted  with  admiration 
even  at  the  present  time,"  says  M'Clatchie.  13 ut  under 
the  new  regime  the  higher  Western  education  docs  not 
fit  a  young  woman  for  her  position  as  wife  and  mother 
in  a  Japanese  home.  It  only  makes  her  r<  stless  and 
unhappy.  Legislation  as  to  marring;'  and  divorce 
needs  revision.  Methods  of  self-support  are  to  be 
found.  Christianity  must  reconstruct  the  home.  The 
number  of  female  teachers  who  pr<  fer  a'i  ind  •}> ••ndent 
Single  life  to  the  servitude  of  m.»r  iii'.-ivasing. 

There  were,  two  years  ago,  in   Hi  >   eleme1  t.-i  y  s 


66  LANGUAGE,   LITERATURE  AND   ART. 

alone,  eight  hundred  and  fifty  lady  teachers.  Miss 
Bacon  has  found  among  this  class  some  of  the  most 
respected  of  Japanese  women.  In  the  growth  of  this 
body  of  teachers  she  sees  the  surest  sign  that  the  law 
will  eventually  emancipate  woman  from  her  present 
fetters,  and  make  marriage  a  less  repugnant  restraint 
to  those  whose  sense  of  self-respect  has  been  quick- 
ened by  Christian  culture.  Educational  statistics  and 
incidents  of  student  life  as  seen  in  different  parts  of 
the  empire  are  given  in  detail  in  my  Out-door  Life  in 
the  Orient. 

Japanese  verse  is  freer  from  Chinese  flavor  than 
prose,  and  is  more  attractive,  For  centuries  it  was 
the  custom  of  Japanese  gentlemen  to  write  poetry, 
generally  lyric,  and  sometimes  humorous.  Suicides 
were  often  preceded  by  an  afflatus  in  this  line.  Inten- 
tion and  motive  were  stated.  Paragrams  and  other 
pleasant  forms  of  ainbiloquy,  acrostics  and  palin- 
dromes were  popular.  Poetic  contests  were  in  vogue 
a  thousand  years  ago.  The  odes  were  brief,  and  con- 
sisted of  alternate  lines  of  five  and  seven  syllables. 
The  love  of  nature  led  the  poet  to  choose  his  theme 
from  the  natural  world  about  him.  Japan  still  has 
also  her  fairy  tales,  borrowed  from  India  and  China, 
illustrated  with  odd  designs  in  wood  engravings.  His- 
torical plays  are  common,  for  the  people  are  fond  of 
theatrical  amusements,  although  players  were  ostra- 
cised until  1868.  The  Kabuki  actors  were  despised  ; 
indeed,  the  very  theatres  in  which  they  appeared,  says 
Professor  Chamberlain,  were  looked  down  on  as  places 
too  vile  for  any  gentleman  to  enter.  Such  outcasts 
were  actors  at  the  time,  that,  when  a  census  was  taken, 
they  wciv  sjioken  of  with  the  numerals  used  in  count- 
ing animals.  Those  to  whom  Japanese  is  familiar  will 


LITEIiATURE   IN   JAPAN.  67 

appreciate  the  sting  of  the  insult."  The  attempt  to 
reform  the  theatre  is  not  a  success,  though  in  some 
centers  certain  nameless  appendages  may  have  been 
suppressed.* 

Journalistic  literature,  scientific  and  linguistic  learn- 
ing are  of  modern  growth,  and  will  be  referred  to  later 
on  when  we  look  at  the  rejuvenescence  of  the  East. 

INDUSTRIAL  ARTS. 

Industrial  arts,  coarse  and  fine,  architecture  and  kin- 
dred themes  are  treated  fully  by  Professor  Rein  of  the 
University  of  Bonn,  by  Mr.  Swatow  and  other  con- 
tributors to  the  Asiatic  Society.  The  latter  tells  us 
that  the  primeval  palace  was  a  wooden  hut.  The 
frame  was  tied  together  with  fibrous  tendrils  of,  climb- 
ing vines.  Mats  were  laid  on  the  mud  floor,  where 
venomous  snakes  were  not  strangers  to  prince  or  ple- 
beian. The  Shinto  temple  took  its  stylo  from  the 
same  original.  The  roof,  first  thatched,  then  shingled, 
was  afterward  covered  with  tile  or  copper.  The  pro- 
jecting rafters  were  lengthened  and  elaborately  carved. 
The  inner  shrine  was  raised  from  the  floor,  and  a  bal- 
cony and  steps  added.  So  domestic  architecture  grew 
from  the  simple  shelter  of  trees,  whose  branches  were 
bent  and  bound  with  rush,  then  covered  with  grass. 
Such  extemporaneous  abodes  needed  no  tools  in  their 
construction.  The  people  early  got  used  to  the  drafts 
of  air  which  to  Europeans,  domiciled  in  a  native 
house,  are  so  uncomfortable.  As  a  foreign  diplomat, 

"  When  you  can  make  an  oak  out  of  a  mushroom,  then,  and  not  till 
then,  you  may  hope  to  make  a  living  tree  out  of  that  poisonous  toad- 
stool, the  theatre.  Even  among  heathen  nations  it  was  considered  a 
disgrace  to  be  connected  with  one.  Down  through  all  the  thousands 
of  years  which  it  has  lived  since  then,  it  has  come  with  perpetual  dis- 
honor  on  its  head." — HENRY  WARD  BEECHEH. 


68  LANGUAGE,    LITERATI' UK    AND    ART. 

between  his  sneezes,  used  to  say,  "  Les  Japonais 
(«forent  les  courants  (Pair !  "  His  greatest  fear,  evi- 
dently, was  the  atmosphere ! 

The  Kunst  Leben  or  art  life  of  Japan  has  so  large  a 
literature,  we  need  not  dwell  on  it  longer  than  to  note 
a  few  general  facts.  Indian  taste  is  declining,  we  are 
told,  on  account  of  the  importation  of  coarse,  cheap, 
foreign  wares.*  "Wood  carving,  the  preparation  of 
textile  fabrics,  fine  pith  work  and  damascening  with 
gold  have  all  suffered.  The  introduction  of  piece  goods 
free  of  duty  has  driven  the  weavers  into  other  em- 
ployments. Copper  and  brass  vessels  supplant  the 
pottery  which  was  the  product  of  Saracenic  taste,  and 
the  finest  in  the  world.  A  tinsel  style  of  jewelry, 
foreign  designs  in  carpets,  with  poor  colors  in  place  of 
the  vivid  blue  and  red  of  Persia,  and  other  substitu- 
tions show  the  detrusion  of  artistic  taste  through  the 
mercantile  and  mercenary  spirit  of  the  age. 

Japan  and  other  parts  of  the  East  feel  the  same  de- 
pressing influences.  The  inspiration  of  the  old  regime 
is  gone  forever  in  the  Sunrise  Land.  "  Nothing  is  left 
but  the  scenery,"  says  one  of  her  sons,  now  in  Ameri- 
ca. The  conditions  no  longer  exist  under  which  were 
developed  and  perfected  those  ideals  that  once  made 
decorative  art  what  it  was.  Towards  mere  handicraft 
the  Japanese  have  little  leaning.  They  despise  trade 
\\\\(\  barter.  Excepting,  perhaps,  the  vocation  of  ar- 
morer, they  look  down  on  manual  labor.  Business 
contracts  clash  with  their  inherited  ideas.  They  are 
unpractical,  and  have  less  ten.-ieity  of  purpose  than 
\ve.  They  have  more  ability  than  stability.  Toil  is 
not  regarded  the  end  of  life.  As  was  said  by  Mr. 


*  Nineteenth  Century,  February,  1891. 


INDUSTRIAL  AETS.  (39 

Dening,  addressing  the  Asiatic  Society  at  Tokyo,  No- 
vember 12,  1890 :  "  The  lack  of  interest  in  industry, 
agriculture  and  commerce,  so  apparent  among  Japan- 
ese young  men,  is  the  outcome  of  the  training  which 
they  have  received.  The  books  held  in  high  esteem 

«/ 

treat  of  subjects  far  removed  from  the  every-day  life 
of  men  of  business.  The  life  of  bread-earning  seems 
to  be  a  gloomy  existence.  Occidentals,  in  their  opin- 
ion, are  nothing  the  better  for  their  big  machines  and 
appliances ;  on  the  contrary,  they  render  themselves, 
by  perpetual  toil  and  worry,  unfit  to  enjoy  the  pleas- 
ures which  nature  places  within  their  reach."  An 
educated  native,  speaking  before  the  same  learned 
body,  affirmed  that  it  would  take  generations  to  eradi- 
cate from  Japanese  thought  the  evil  effects  of  that 
grinding  despotism  which  in  earlier  days  repressed 
individuality  and  independence.  Everything  of  origi- 
nal thought  was  suppressed  by  the  Shoguns  as  sedi- 
tious. The  lack  of  enterprise  shown  by  the  farmer 
and  mechanic,  the  fatalistic  manner  in  which  they 
cling  to  their  environment,  as  though  it  were  unalter- 
able, are  fruits  of  feudalism.  These  are  also  shown  in 
the  thoughts  of  the  learned  classes.  "  Learning  is  no 
more  than  a  pastime,  with  the  majority.  It  is  pursued 
with  no  practical  end  in  view.  It  is  valued  more  as  a 
polite  accomplishment  than  as  an  organ  of  enlightening 
and  ameliorating  the  condition  of  suffering  humanity." 
Tims  briefly,  but  broadly,  have  we  reviewed  some 
features  of  Oriental  thought  and  life  in  the  past,  with 
the  conditions  out  of  which  they  grew.  Naturally  wo 
now  turn  to  examine  the  present,  and  to  forecast  the 
future. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  REJUVENESCENCE  OF  THE  EAST. 

"  There  sits  drear  Egypt,  mid  beleaguering  sands,     .     .     . 
The  burnt-out  torch  within  her  mouldering  hands 
That  once  lit  all  the  East." 

PKOEESSOK  J.  R.  LOWELL. 

Percival  Lowell  says  that  race-life  in  Japan  is  com- 
pleted, and  the  vital  force  of  Corea  and  China  was 
spent  a  thousand  years  ago.  The  Jordan  that  was  fed 
from  far-off  mountains  has  reached  its  Dead  Sea.  The 
Nirvana  is  now  being  realized  in  the  Far  East.  It 
is  already  wrapped  in  its  winding  sheet  and  destined 
to  disappear  before  the  advancing  nations  of  the  West. 
The  apparent  life  is  but  superficial — that  of  sprouts  on 
a  stunted  tree.  Civilization  has  been  a  mechanical 
compound  without  affinity  of  elements  and  without  the 
coherence  that  comes  from  thorough  fusion. 

VARIOUS   OUTLOOKS. 

It  is  amusing  to  note  the  positiveness  of  some  views 
formed  after  brief  acquaintance  and  narrow  generali- 
zations. One  recently  deceased  author,  Gifibrd  Pal- 
grave,  fixed  eight  weeks  as  the  proper  period  to  qual- 
ify an  intelligent  visitor  to  write  about  Japan.  A 
shorter  time  he  fancied  would  produce  superficial 
ideas,  while  a  longer  stay  would  bring  about  a  wroug 
mental  focus.  He  governed  himself  accordingly.  Henry 
Finck  spent  eight  weeks  in  the  Iberian  peninsular, 
and  presents  in  his  new  volume,  Spain  and  Morocco, 


DECREPITUDE   DENIED.  71 

charming  samples  of  local  color,  for  the  transfer  of 
which  he  claims,  perhaps  justly,  that  he  is  "  better 
qualified  after  a  visit  of  two  months,  than  after  a 
sojourn  of  two  years ;  for  what  is  most  novel,  charac- 
teristic and  romantic  in  a  foreign  country  strikes  us 
most  vividly  at  the  beginning.  It  gradually  loses  its 
fascination  as  daily  repetition  makes  it  seem  normal." 

Something  more,  however,  is  needed  than  residence 
in  a  country.  Something  more,  even,  than  acute  pow- 
ers of  observation.  Max  Muller  writes  understand- 
ingly  about  India  without  having  seen  its  shores.  To 
be  a  wise  traveler  one  must  have  been  a  wide  reader. 
A  year  abroad  is  but  a  brief  period  to  gain  just  meas- 
urements of  life  and  thought,  unless  one  has  a  well- 
stored  niind  to  begin  with.  Then,  with  philosophical 
instincts  to  guide  research,  a  short  sojourn  serves  to 
fertilize  the  studies  of  previous  years,  to  illuminate 
early  impressions,  anil  to  correct  false  ones.  Much 
which  is  latent  comes  to  view,  and  a  wonderful  stimu- 
lus to  fresh  investigation  is  received. 

Is  the  rejuvenation  of  the  East  possible  ?  Is  it  need- 
ed ?  If  so,  on  what,  conditions,  and  by  whom,  will 
the  resuscitation  be  accomplished  ?  It  is  a  profound 
problem.  The  writor  feels  like  addressing  the  reader 
in  the  words  of  the  governor  of  Formosa,  not  long  ago 
addressed  to  the  "Emperor — a  Chinese  meiosis,  thor- 
oughly Oriental — "  On  my  narrow  views  and  meager 
opinions,  I  beg  your  sacred  glance  !  " 

DECREPITUDE  DENIED. 

The  English  rac'j  is  apt  to  look  on  Asian  life  as 
doomed.  Western  life  alone  has  promise  of  eternal 
youth.  Manifest  'iestiny  has  given  us  the  earth  and 
the  fullness  the^xofr  Fourth  of  July  orators  put  the 


72  THE    KK.TrYKNKsn.NCE    OF   THE    EAST. 

poles  as  the  proper  limits  of  American  power  north- 
ward and  southward,  and  the  day  of  judgment  the  oiilj 
limit  westward  !  The  same  imperious  spirit  of  pro- 
prietorship led  Beaconsfield  uniformly  to  speak  of 
England  as  essentially  an  Asiatic  power.  The  assump- 
tion is  that  Eastern  life,  as  a  whole,  is  senile,  if  not 
moribund  ;  that  its  physical  forces  are  degenerating, 
and  its  mental  activity  feeble.  AVhat  are  the  facts  ? 

Since  beginning  this  chapter,  a  letter  from  my  friend 
Dr.  Ashmore  of  Swatow  informs  me  of  the  amazing 
vitality  of  the  oldest  -race  now  Living  on  the  earth. 
He  says  :  "  We  dwell  on  the  growth  of  our  own  popu- 
lation at  home,  but  China  is  advancing  nearly  three 
times  as  fast — forty  millions  in  ten  years  !  Enough  to 
start  and  stock  a  new  nation."  This,  it  must  be  re- 
membered, is  not  by  immigration,  as  here,  but  by 
natural  increase.  Japan,  too,  has  steadily  increased 
to  upwards  of  forty  millions.  Indeed,  the  vernacular 
press  has  been  discussing  the  inadequate  food  supply 
for  the  rapid  growth  of  population.  Malthusian  ap- 
prehensions trouble  them,  and  various  plans  are  sug- 
gested.* In  five  years  fourteen  thousand  thrifty 
Japanese  in  Hawaii  sent  home  two  million  dollars. 
This  is  but  one  hint  of  the  expanding  material  pros- 
perity of  that  part  of  the  East.  The  fifteen  millions 
increase  in  India  since  its  last  census  is  another  proof 
that  Oriental  races  are  not  dying  out.  They  seem  to 
be,  some  of  them,  at  least,  "  as  full-blooded,  as  virile 
in  their  physical  make,  and  as  likely  to  endure  for 
thirty  generations  as  they  did  a  thousand  years  ago. 
They  seem  to  be  waiting  in  grand  reserve  as  the  beds 
of  anthracite  have  waited  with  latent  fires  for  future 


*  Japan  Mail,  August  9th  and  30th,  1890. 


DECREPITUDE   DENIED.  73 

use.  That  ancient  development  of  man  which  began 
on  the  plains  of  Shinar,  bids  fair  to  live  by  the  side  of 
its  Occidental  rival,  even  if  it  does  not  outlive  this  by 
reason  of  its  calmer  flow  of  life.  If  it  does  thus  live, 
all  analogy  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  there  is  some- 
thing in  it  which  deserves  to  live,  which  Providence 
has  a  use  for  in  the  future,  something  or  other,  which, 
under  divine  regeneration,  will  be  a  cause  of  growth, 
if  inf  usiul  into  the  life-blood  of  the  Western  races. 
The  circle  of  Occidental  development  may  be  en- 
larged by  it.  The  channel  in  -which  our  civilization  is 
moving  may  be  widened  and  deepened."  * 

Are  there  signs  of  mental  decrepitude  ?  Certainly 
not  in  Japan,  China  and  India,  which  represent  half 
the  human  race.  I  found  a  vigorous  intellectual  fer- 
ment iii  all  these  empires.  Decomposition  and  re- 
composition  are  going  on.  The  thousands  of  new 
books  by  Indian  scholars  issued  yearly,  and  the  pub- 
lished proceedings  of  the  National  Congress — two 
portly  folios  sent  to  me  by  the  presidents  of  the  Bom- 
bay and  Allahabad  bodies — are  significant  signs  of  a 
fruitful  and  aggressive  mental  activity.  So,  also,  are 
their  schools  and  universities.  The  great  arsenals  of 
China,  like  Foochow  and  Kiangnan,  with  their  schools 
for  interpreters,  translating  departments,  libraries  and 
printing  establishments,  are  unique  and  commanding 
witnesses  to  a  nascent  intellectual  life,  which  must 
bring  about  great  changes  in  the  ruling  classes  of  the 
Empire.  In  eight  years  83,454  scientific  volumes  were 
translated  from  the  English  and  other  foreign  tongues, 
and  sold  to  eager  and  appreciative  readers.  The  first 
four  volumes  were  on  geometry,  algebra,  military 


Men  and  Books  (Prtfessor  Phelps),  p.  '2'M. 


74       THT  REJUVENESCENCE  OF  THE  EAST. 

engineering  and  differential  calculus.  Books  on  the 
physical  sciences,  law,  medicine,  philosophy  and  re- 
ligion have  followed.  Some  have  been  adopted  as 
text-books  of  mission  schools  and  in  the  Peking  Uni- 
versity. Professor  Fryer  and  his  staff  have  overcome 
the  difficulty  of  nomenclature  and  other  obstacles 
which  confront  pioneers  of  modern  sciences.  The 
Emperor  can,  indeed,  decide  the  exact  manner  in 
which  characters  shall  be  written.  He  has  forbidden 
certain  forms,  but  he  cannot  check  the  growth  of 
ideas,  or  of  the  expression  of  those  ideas  in  the  ver- 
nacular. 

The  venerable  Oriental  scholar,  Dr.  Edkins  of  Shan- 
gai,  says  that  the  temper  of  the  literati  is  not  as  in- 
tolerant as  formerly,  and  so  the  acceptance  of  the 
gospel  by  'the  younger  generation  is  not  as  hopeless  as 
it  once  was.  China  may  become  like  Japan  in  this 
respect.  He  quotes  one  scholar  who  urges  govern- 
ment to  use  foreign  methods  in  cultivating  laud,  and 
boldly  proclaims  the  folly  of  Feng-Slmi,  the  wind  and 
water  delusion.  "  No  one  engaged  in  public  affairs 
should  give  it  any  attention.  It  is  dreamy  talk  with- 
out a  basis."  Another  high  Confucian  scholar,  land- 
holder and  owner  of  European  machinery  asked  Dr. 
Edkins  if  Christian  converts  could  be  secured  on  his 
estates  as  settlers.  He  would  gladly  put  in  their  hands 
modern  appliances,  and  would  aid  in  erecting  a  Chris- 
tian chapel  for  their  use.  From  time  to  time  the  liter- 
ati have  borrowed  from  the  West.  The  Manchu  alpha- 
bet is  the  result  of  Christian  missions  in  Central  Asia 
in  the  middle  ages.  Fung  Yee,  late  Secretary  of  the 
Legation  at  London,  recently  replied  to  the  remark 
that  the  news  were  too  good  to  be  true  that  China  was 
now  really  in  favor  of  the  immediate  construction  of 


DECREPITUDE   DENIED.  75 

railways,  by  saying  that  government  has  been  ready, 
ever  since  treaty  ports  were  opened,  to  adopt  all  for- 
eign ideas  "  that  were  unmistakably  calculated  to  en- 
rich and  strengthen  her."  China  has  adapted  her 
policy  to  the  exigencies  of  the  time  and  circumstances 
of  the  people.  There  had  been  no  real  retrogression. 
The  ill-advised  and  abortive  Woosung  railway  was  no 
Exception. 

Sir  Frederic  Brace's  remark  to  Charles  Sumner  may 
be  repeated  here,  in  support  of  the  fact  that  there  is 
no  mental  decrepitude  to  be  found  in  the  statesmanship 
of  the  Far  East.  He  said  to  Sumner  that  the  officials 
he  had  met  were  "  unequalled  for  character  and  abili- 
ty." Being  pressed,  he  repeated  the  remark,  and  said 
that  he  would  not  except  even  Palmerston  in  making 
his  comparison.  These  astute  diplomats  of  the  Flow- 
ery Kingdom  very  soon  take  the  measure  of  their 
Western  peers,  and  also  know  how  to  handle  their  in- 
feriors. A  recent  author,  speaking  of  the  disgraceful 
and  cruel  treatment  of  Chinese  by  America,  warns  us 
that  these  statesmen  have  quietly  made  note  of  it  and 
patiently  bide  their  time.  "  Their  memories  are  long. 
Some  day  they  wiU  collect  their  bill,  and  it  will  be 
made  up  with  compound  interest."  * 

What  has  been  said  of  the  mental  awakening  in 
India  and  China  can  be  said  witli  special  emphasis  of 
Japan.  Nothing,  perhaps,  in  history  equals  it.  To-day 
Japan  is  spending  proportiouably  more  for  schools 
than  the  United  States.  Its  ratio  of  attendance  is 
larger  than  here.  Does  this  look  as  if  the  Land  of 
the  Morning  were  "  wrapped  in  its  winding  sheet," 
destined  to  disappear  in  its  own  Nirvana  V  Not  much. 


A.  A.  Hayes  in  Atlantic  Monthly.  M.iv,  is:*7. 


76  THE   HE.TUYEXESCTATE    OF   THE   EAST. 

Mr.  Lowell  "  reads  his  own  ideas  into  facts  and  draws 
out  undreamed  inferences,"  remarks  a  keen  Japanese 
critic,  wlio  advises  liim  to  drop  liis  evolutionary  the- 
ories and  make  "  a  more  impartial  and  thorough  ex- 
amination of  Oriental  life."  * 

No,  Nippon  is  not  "  a  clock  run  down."  This  state- 
ment of  Mr.  Lowell  is  as  far  from  the  truth  as  his 
other,  that  Christianity  is  a  failure  in  the  Orient.  The 
wish  is  sometimes  father  to  the  thought.  One  proof 
of  national  life  is  the  patriotism  of  the  people.  The 
Yamato  DamashU — the  Spirit  of  Unconquerable 
Japan — is  vigorous  still.  Nations  that  show  this  tem- 
per are  not  lapsing  into  senility.  Personal  and  family 
pride  in  Japan  are  inseparable  from  a  chivalric  love  of 
countiy.  It  has  always  been  the  chief  object  of  edu- 
cation, observes  Nakashima,  to  intensify  and  develop 
this  sense  of  honor.  All  actions  are  tested  by  it. 

A  MOKAL  REJUVENATION. 

Circumstances  threw  me  into  somewhat  intimate  re- 
lations for  several  days  during  the  summer  of  1890, 
with  a  gentleman  now  in  the  House  of  Peers.  An  in- 
tense patriotism  seemed  to  be  the  guiding  impulse  of 
his  life.  He  appreciated  what  he  had  seen  in  America 
and  Europe,  and  earnestly  desired,  he  told  me,  to 
have  all  the  best  elements  of  Western  thought  incor- 
porated into  the  nascent  civilization  of  his  native  land. 
He  would  not  admit  a  physical  or  mental  decay  in  the 
Far  -East ;  but  he  did  see  the  need  of  a  moral  reju- 
venation. Though  not  a  convert  to  Christianity,  he 
declared  himself  favorably  inclined  to  it  from  what  he 
had  read  and  heard,  also  from  his  relations  to  a  Chris- 


*  Rikizo  Nakashinin,  New  Englander,  February,  1889. 


A   M01IAL    REJUVENATION.  77 

tian  teacher  in  his  University  course.    This  is  a  typical 
case. 

Intelligent  men  in  the  East  feel  that  moral  ele- 
ments are  indispensible  to  lift  the  Oriental  mind  to 
its  truest  altitude.  The  recent  deliverance  of  the 
Mikado  declares  this,  in  substance,  in  reference  to 
education.  It  follows  a  similar  utterance  of  the  Yice- 
roj  of  India.  The  material  forces  of  commerce,  sci- 
ence, arts  and  philosophy  cannot  generate  the  new 
life  needed,  valuable  though  they  are.  Professor 
Phelps  says  it  is  useless  to  "  look  for  a  rejuvenes- 
cence of  Asia  in  coming  ages  from  any  internal 
forces  now  acting  there,  independently  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  East  is  the  land  of  pyramids  and  sphinxes. 
Whatever  that  immense  territory  has  to  contribute  to 
the  civilization  of  the  future  must  come  from  the  ger- 
mination of  biblical  thought.  It  must  be  the  working 
of  biblical  inspiration  in  the  spiritual  renewal  of  Ori- 
ental character,  which  nothing  but  the  religion  of  the 
Scriptures  can  produce.  Why  should  it  be  deemed 
visionary  to  look  for  this  as  one  of  the  results  of  the 
infusion  of  European  mind  now  going  on  in  Western 
and  Central  Asia  ?  Already  the  germs  of  Christian 
universities  and  libraries  exist  there,  which  may  one 
day  allure  literary  travel  from  the  West,  as  those  of 
England  and  Germany  do  to-day.  Inspired  prophecy 
aside,  it  is  no  more  visionary  to  predict  the  recreation 
of  the  Oriental  mind  in  forms  of  new  literature  su- 
perior to  any  the  world  has  yet  known,  through  the 
plastic  influences  of  the  Scriptures,  than  it  was  to  ;m- 
anticipate  the  birth  of  the  three  great  literatures  of 
Europe,  as  the  fruit  of  the  modern  revival  of  the  liter- 
tures  of  Greece  and  Home.  The  minds  of  nations 
move  in  just  such  immense  waves  of  revolution.  Rea- 


78  THE   IlEJUVENESCENCE   OF   THE   EAST. 

soiling  a  posteriori  they  are  only  the  natural  effect  of  ;i 
great  force  generating  great  forces.  The  Asiatic  races, 
indeed,  have  a  fairer  intellectual  prospect  than  Europe 
had  at.  the  time  of  the  revival  of  letters,  for  they  are  to 
receive  their  higher  education  in  Christian  instead  of 
Pagan  forms.  Conceive  what  difference  would  have 
been  created  in  the  destinies  of  Europe,  what  centuries 
of  conflict  with  barbarism  would,  to  human  view,  have 
been  saved,  if  the  Greek  and  Roman  literatures  could 
have  come  into  the  possession  of  the  modern  European 
mind,  .freighted  with  Christian,  instead  of  Pagan 
thought,  and  if,  thus  Christianized,  they  could  have 
been  wrought  into  European  culture  !  "  "::~ 

Thii  acute  thinker  saw  a  providence  in  the  fact  that 
the  divine  Word  was  forever  stereotyped  in  an  Ori- 
ental mould,  as  if  the  Oriental  type  of  the  race  was  yet 
to  be  not  only  a  power  in  the  world's  history,  but  the 
vital  bond  between  its  future  and  its  past.  Napoleon 
called  Europe  provincial  and  contracted.  The  East 
was  the  only  fit  theater  for  great  exploits,  where  are 
great  races  and  ancient  seats  of  empire.  "  There  may 
be  more  of  truth  in  this  than  he  meant  to  utter.  The 
grandest  intellectual  and  moral  conquests  of  the  world 
may  yet  follow  the  track  of  Alexander." 

This  rapid  review  of  the  need  and  possibility  of  a 
moral  resuscitation  of  the  East  has  brought  us  to  the 
consideration  of  matters  of  practical  concern  to  those 
who  desire,  in  one  way  or  another,  to  aid  in  so  great 
and  grand  a  work.  By  what  methods  may  the  vivify- 
ing influence  of  Protestant  Christianity  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  Asiatic  thought?  How  may  we  best  im- 
prove this  pivotal  period  and  hasten  the  occupancy  of 
the  Oriental  world  for  Christ  ? 


*  Men  and  Books,  p.  234. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
SUPERNATURAL    FACTORS. 

"  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ;  THEKEFORE 
go  ye  and  teach  all  nations." — JESUS. 

Will  tlie  moon  of  Mahomet  wane,  and  the  cry  of  the 
muezzin  be  heard  no  more  ?  Will  Brahminic  wisdom 
and  Confucian  scholarship  ever  be  humbled  before  the 
Crucified,  and  the  wealth  of  the  Orient  be  laid  at  His 
feet  ?  A  wild  dream  indeed  it  is  to  those  who  ignore 
the  supernatural  in  human  affairs  ;  but  to  those  who 
see  God's  hand  in  history  it  is  a  sober  verity.  Christ 
has  a  kingdom.  The  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  are 
His  possession.  "  This  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall 
be  preached  in  all  the  world,  for  a  witness  unto  all 
nations,  and  then  shall  the  end  coine."  Matt,  xxiv :  14. 
Because  God  our  Saviour  has  all  power,  because  there 
is  "given  Him  dominion  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom, 
that  all  people,  nations  and  languages  should  serve 
Him,"  we  go  forth  with  His  truth,  which  is  the  power 
of  God  and  therefore  omnipotent. 

The  success  of  missions  during  the  past"  century  can 
only  be  interpreted  by  conceding  this  superhuman  ele- 
ment. Their  final  triumph  can  be  hoped  for  on  no 
other  ground.  Material  factors  are  not  forgotten. 
War  has  played  its  part,  commerce,  politics,  science, 
human  skill  and  learning ;  these  all  are  allies  in  pre- 
paring the  way  of  the  Lord,  but  with  nothing  more,  we 
should  be  impotent  to  contend  with  the  great  historic 
forces  of  heathenism. 


80  SUI'KKXATUKAL    FACTORS. 

Sydney  Smith  and  other  English  reviewers  eighty 
odd  years  ago  ignored  the  supernatural  factors  of  the 
missionary  work,  and  therefore  sneered  at  it.  Carey 
and  his  associates  were  called  "  didactic  artisans, 
whose  proper  talk  is  of  bullocks  and  not  the  gospel ; 
delirious  mechanics ;  the  lowest  of  the  people ;  detach- 
ments of  lunatics."  The  profound  ignorance  of  these 
clerical  railers  was  shown  by  their  estimate  of  the  hea- 
then to  whom  the  missionaries  went.  They  extolled 
the  pagan  at  the  expense  of  the  Christian,  saying, 
"  We  believe  a  Hindu  is  more  mild  and  sober  than 
most  Europeans,  and  as  honest  and  chaste."  There 
are  scholarly  men  to-day  who  show  as  little  knowledge 
of  the  field  and  the  work. 

IGNOKANT  CEITICS. 

A  public  man  in  England,  an  Oxford  graduate  and 
doctor  of  laws,  was  conversing  with  a  lady.  She  ex- 
cused herself,  saying  that  she  had  an  engagement  at 
the  Zenana  mission.  He  innocently  replied  that  he  had 
heard  of  that  place,  Zenana,  but  where  in  the  world  it 
was  located  he  did  not  know  !  In  Ferguson's  History 
of  Ceylon,  reference  is  made  to  a  member  of  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament  who  protested  against  stationing  troops 
in  "  this  deadly  climate  of  West  Africa,"  Ceylon,  evi- 
dently, being  in  his  thought  a  shortened  form  of  Sierra 
Leone. 

An  English  sportsman,  W.  S.  Percival,  admits  that 
there  have  been  a  few  great  missionaries,  but  he  jeers 
at  the  bulk  of  them  as  "  poor  enthusiasts  .  .  .  with 
the  average  education  of  the  class  to  which  they  be- 
long." He  is  particularly  bitter  against  unmarried 
ladies,  and  says,  "  Respectable  Chinese  do  not  admit 
missionary  visitors  ;  what  can  they  think  of  these  girl 


THREE   AGENCIES.  81 

wanderers  ? "  The  author  of  A  Girdle  Round  the 
Earth  adds  falsehood  to  scorn,  saying,  "  Missionaries 
in  China  live  in  luxury.  No  foreign  class  do  so  little 
work.  There  are  more  pagans  born  here  every  minute 
than  are  converted  in  a  century."  Thus  are  the  Mas- 
ter's words  fulfilled.  He  was  called  Beelzebub  by 
those  whose  lives  were  reproved  by  His  presence. 
"  Because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world 
hateth  you."  Sir  Richard  Temple  indignantly  met 
similar  calumnies  aimed  at  the  self-denying  and  hard 
worked  missionaries  among  the  Hindus,  by  saying,  "  I 
assure  you,  as  a  man  who  has  himself  actually  gov- 
erned one  hundred  and  five  millions  of  these  natives  of 
India,  that  nothing  can  be  a  greater  caricature  and 
travesty." 

Those  who  look  upon  missions  as  a  human  enter- 
prise, and  ignore  the  supernatural  factors  concerned  in 
it,  apply  simply  mercantile  and  mercenary  tests.  Men 
and  methods,  aims  and  results,  are  viewed  from  a  low 
and  narrow  outlook.  The  means  employed  are  likely 
to  be  of  a  secular  and  worldly  character.  The  temper 
in  which  they  would  carry  on  the  work  is  also  worldly, 
and  they  demand  immediate  and  palpable  results.  We 
cannot  wonder  so  much  at  the  shallow  criticisms  which , 
are  passed  upon  it  when  the  supernatural  element  that 
inspires  and  directs  it  is  lost  sight  of.  Those  who 
come  to  the  missionary  field  must  expect  to  encounter 
them  continually. 

THREE  AGENCIES. 

First  and  foremost  is  the 

piocl,  .    •  .,     ,    • .?   i  .s  the   power  of  the 

gospel  has  I)  m  demonstrated!!!  the  triumphs  it  has 
won  among  A\  esteni  nations,  the  past  nineteen  cen- 


82  SUPERNATURAL   FACTO  I  ;s. 

turies,  wo  are  sure  that  it  has  an  equally  glorious  mis- 
sion to  accomplish  for  the  Orient.  Said  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards :  "  America  has  received- the  true  religion  of  the 
old  continent.  The  church  of  ancient  times  has  been 
there,  and  Christ  is  from  thence.  But  that  there  may 
be  an  equality — and  inasmuch  as  that  continent  has 
crucified  Christ — they  shall  not  have  the  honor  of  com- 
municating religion  in  its  most  glorious  state  to  us,  but 
we,  to  them."  He  believed  that  the  heathen  needed 
the  gospel,  and  that  they  needed  it  this  side  of  the 
grave.  This  Pauline  idea  was  not  then  regarded  "  an 
exploded  theory,"  nor  was  Christianity  to  him  a  spent 
force.  Yet  he  died,  in  1758,  before  the  first  modern 
missionary  society  was  formed.  William  Carey  at  Ket- 
tering,  in  1795,  organized  this  pioneer  of  the  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  formed  since.  It  is  estimated  that  these 
Boards  have  sent  twenty-five  thousand  laborers  into 
the  foreign  field.  If  President  Edwards  has  in  heaven, 
seen  the  "  Miracles  of  Missions  "  on  earth  of  the  past 
half  century — and  why  should  we  doubt  the  fact  of  his 
knowledge  and  continued  sympathy  ? — his  reminis- 
cences must  be  full  of  joy.  Because  it  was  God's 
planting,  the  fir-tree  has  displaced  the  thorn,  and  the 
myrtle,  the  brier.  Because  God  gave  the  increase,  the 
earth  has  brought  forth  in  a  day,  and  a  nation  has 
been  born  at  once.  Because  the  Lord  gave  the  word, 
great  was  the  company  of  men  and  women  that  wil- 
lingly proclaimed  it.  "Nations  have  been  transformed, 
Christianity  has  become  the  law  of  the  land,  and  idols, 
once  in  every  house,  have  not  been  found,  even  as 
curios  and  relics  !  The  adamantine  wall  of  caste,  the 
iron  wheel  of  transmigration,  the  brazen  fetters  of 
Moslem  bigotry,  the  hopeless  thraldom  of  •  fetichism 
have  alike  proved  powerless  to  oppose  the  simple  gos- 


EDUCATIONAL   METHODS.  83 

pel  of  Christ."  *  Methods  of  evangelistic  labor  vary 
with  country  and  clime,  but  they  all  involve  the  train- 
ing up  of  a  native  force  of  preachers  and  teachers, 
hence  a  second  agency,  the  Educational. 

EDUCATIONAL   METHODS. 

The  discipling  of  all  nations  is  done  by  the  school 
as  truly  as  by  the  sermon,  by  the  printed  page  as  well 
as  by  the  living  voice.  There  should  be  no  friction. 
Yet  in  some  fields,  a  disproportionate  attention  has 
been  given  to  teaching  and  to  branches  of  purely  secu- 
lar learning.  It  is  easy  to  yield  to  the  eager  demand 
in  Eastern  communities  for  instruction  in  secular  sci- 
ence, made  by  those  who  are  moved  by  mercenary 
motives  alone,  and  who  care  nothing  for  Christianity. 
Again,  when  governmental  patronage  and  aid  are 
promised  to  schools  whose  pupils  reach  a  certain  per- 
centage in  studies  required  by  government,  a  strong 
pressure  is  brought  to  bear  on  the  missionary.  A 
laudable  desire  to  conciliate  local  prejudices  also 
tempts  him  to  keep  the  distinctive  religious  character 
of  education  out  of  sight,  when  surrounded  by  un- 
friendly influences.  A  desire  to  stand  well  before 
those  at  home,  who  watch  with  admiring  interest  the 
numerical  growth  of  school  as  well  as  church,  and  a 
desire  to  compare  favorably  with  competing  societies 
in  the  field,  also  affect  educational  methods. 

Rev.  Charles  R.  Hager,  in  a  recent  article  on  Suc- 
cess in  Missionary  Life,  gives  a  timely  caution  on  this 
point,  drawn  from  his  experience  in  China.  "  Seem- 
ing success  is  based  chiefly  on  outward  appearance. 
One  exhibits  quantity,  the  other  quality,  irrespective 


*  Missionary  Keview  of  the  World,  vol.  iii.,  p.  660. 


84  SUPERNATURAL    FACTORS. 

of  numbers.  Missions  are  ill  the  same  danger  as  home 
churches  of  becoming  outwardly  prosperous,  while  the 
real  spiritual  life  remains  dormant."  He  shows,  more- 
over, that  districts  differ  in  fruitfulness  to  as  marked  a 
degree  as  the  soil  of  farms  ;  that  local  characteristics, 
political  history  and  social  conditions  combine  to  make 
the  people  of  one  district  responsive  to  preacher  and 
teacher,  while  with  people  under  opposite  conditions, 
effort  seems  utterly  hopeless;  and,  finally,  that  the 
supernatural  element  must  be  a  constant  factor,  pre- 
paring alike  the  one  to  teach  and  the  other  to  learn. 
The  Word  of  God  as  a  divine  instrument  must  be 
made  central  in  education,  and  never  made  to  take  a 
subordinate  place.  This  gives  dignity  and  power  to 
all  the  instruction.  "  Without  it  the  school  is  useless  ; 
therefore  no  pains  should  be  spared  to  secure  this  pre- 
dominant religioiis  influence,  and  no  conditions  should 
be  imposed  or  allowed,  which  will  interfere  with  it." 
So  said  one  at  the  Shanghai  Conference,  speaking 
from  twenty -five  years  experience  in  the  school  at 
Tungchow,  Rev.  C.  AV.  Mateer,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  a  man 
second  to  none  in  ability  in  that  large  and  memorable 
assembly. 

Heathen  classics  are  studied  in  mission  schools,  for 
they  represent  more  to  native  students  than  Greek  or 
Latin  to  ours.  Pupils  would  be  illiterate  who  knew 
not  the  books  of  their  sages.  These  in  China  are  not 
antagonistic  to  Christianity,  and  are  as  clean  as  those 
we  teach  in  our  colleges.  A  wise,  adroit  teacher  need 
not  be  embarrassed.  The  regnant  power  of  the  AVord 
of  God  will  be  felt  as  a  constant  corrective. 

This  matter  will  be  referred  to  again  in  connection 
with  certain  practical  problems  related  to  the  work 
of  the  preacher,  teacher  and  physician. 


MEDICAL   MISSIONS.  85 

In  no  branch  of  the  work  has  God's  blessing  been 
more  conspicuously  shown  than  in  this.  No  method 
of  labor  brings  us  into  closer  contact  with  Eastern  life. 
No  service  so  sharply  contrasts  Western  science  and 
Oriental  superstition,  the  unselfishness  of  Christianity 
with  the  cruelty  and  ignorance  of  heathenism.  Nothing 
is  so  directly  antidotal  to  the  dislike  of  foreigners 
which  has  been  often  awakened  by  unscrupulous  deal- 
ings with  the  people  of  the  East.  In  no  part  of  the 
work  has  the  romance  of  modern  missions  been  more 
graphically  exhibited.  Again  and  again  surgical  skill 
has  succeeded  in  removing  obstacles  where  diplomacy 
and  military  force  have  failed.  Dr.  Parker  is  said  to 
have  opened  China  with  a  lancet.  So  Dr.  Allen  opened 
Corea  with  his  forceps.  A  nephew  of  the  king  was 
among  the  wounded,  at  the  time  of  a  civil  outbreak. 
Native  physicians  were  about  to  pour  melted  wax  on 
severed  arteries.  Dr.  Allen  took  charge  of  the  royal 
patient,  picked  up  the  bleeding  vessels  with  his  for- 
ceps, tied  them  and  treated  the  wound  with  antiseptic 
appliances.  Excellent  results  followed,  and  the  grate- 
ful King  founded  the  Royal  "Hospital  and  put  Dr. 
Allen  in  charge.  The  preacher  followed  in  the  steps 
of  the  physician.  Dr.  Peck  of  China  has  in  nine  years 
treated  seventy  thousand  cases,  through  which  forty- 
five  thousand  different  persons  have  been  brought 
under  his  Christian  influence.  Dr.  Kerr  has  treated  a 
half  a  million  patients,  educated  a  hundred  medical 
students,  and  prepared  thirty  medical  works.  Daring 
the  Shanghai  Conference,  when  called  upon  to  bear 
witness  as  to  what  I  had  seen  in  the  East  of  Medical 
Missions,  I  spoke  as  follows  : 

It  is  a  privilege  for  one  whose  work,  to  somo  ex- 
tent, lies  in  the  medical  as  well  as  clerical  profession, 


#)  SUPERNATURAL  FACTORS. 

and  whose  opportunities  for  observation  are  not  limited 
to  one  continent,  to  pay  his  tribute  to  the  toilful  ser- 
vice of  missionary  physicians  in  the  East.  This  service 
is  threefold. 

1.  In  maintaining  the  moral  tone  and  professional 
ability  of  this  sacred  vocation.    There  are  influences  at 
work  which  tend  to  lower  the  standard,  not  only  of 
scientific  attainment,   but   of  personal   character.     It 
is  hard  at  home  to  withstand  the  debasing  influences 
of  the  venal,  sordid,  increasingly  sensuous  civilization 
of  the  age,  but  harder  still  when   the   tonic  impulses 
of   a  strong  Christian  sentiment,    such    as    dominate 
England   and  America,   are   wanting.     If   they  have 
done  nothing  else,  medical  missionaries   of  the   East 
have  done  this — all  praise  to  them  for  their  grit  and 
grace — they  have  kept  their  Hippocratean  oath,  taken 
at  graduation,  and  maintained  the  purity,  probity  and 
honor  of  a  profession  which  is  regarded  at  home  as 
second  to  none  in  the  lustre  of  its  fame,  in  the  honor 
of  its  name. 

2.  They  have  broadened  the  field  of  investigation 
and  enriched  the  accumulations  of  science.     The  eti- 
ology and  natural  history  of  diseases  peculiar  to  the 
East  have  competent  observers  and  careful  statisticians 
among  our  medical  missionaries.     The  eulogiums  of 
Carl  Bitter  and  Agassiz  as  to  the  services  of  mission- 
aries, though  emphatic,  are  deserved.     The  reports  of 
resident  physicians  connected  with  the  Customs,  made 
to  the  Inspector-General,  are  hints  as  to  what  may  be 
done   in   future  years  in  the  enrichment  of  medical 
literature,  by  men  whose  opportunities  are  rare  for  the 
study  of  disease  in  its  endemic  seat,  as  leprosy,  for 
example,  or  mental  diseases  in  tropical  climes. 

3.  Their  direct  ministry  to  the   body  and  soul.     I 


THE   ACCELERATION   OF   GOD'S   MOVEMENTS.  87 

could  speak  for  hours  upon  tliis  point,  for  several 
months'  residence  in  Canton  Hospital  has  taught  me, 
what  nothing  else  could  so  vividly  and  pathetically 
illustrate,  the  urgency  and  promise  of  medical  mis- 
sions. Here,  as  in  India  and  Japan,  the  successful 
work  of  female  physicians  has  been  conspicuously 
shown.  Here,  too,  the  disinterested  nature  of  the 
medical  service  has  been  daily  observed.  Here^also, 
the  mighty  power  it  wields  as  an  evangelizing  agency. 
On  each  of  these  points  and  others  I  might  enlarge, 
but  only  respond  to  the  call  you  have  made  on  me  to 
accentuate  the  three  points  named,  the  noble  influence 
your  physicians  exert  in  preserving  untainted  that 
social  purity  which  dominates  the  Christian  homes 
and  countries  we  represent,  which  has  made  marriage 
honorable,  womanhood  sacred  and  continence  iudis- 
pensible  ;  their  services  as  contributors  to  professional 
and  scientific  research,  and  their  crowning  work  as 
priests  and  priestesses  of  Him  who  came  to  seek  and 
to  save  the  lost,  and  whose  benediction  is  their  choicest 
recompense :  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  them  ye  did 
it  unto  Me  !  " 

At  the  same  convention,  which  continued  about  two 
weeks,  the  following  address  was  given  by  the  writer. 
It  is  copied  from  the  Volume  of  Transactions  recently 
published  by  the  Presbyterian  Press,  Shanghai. 

THE  ACCELERATION  OF  GOD'S  MOVEMENTS. 

The  altitude  and  proportions  of  an  edifice  may  be 
sometimes  better  estimated  by  one  who  stands  a  little 
removed  from  it,  rather  than  within  its  walls.  The 
magnitude,  significance  and  promise  of  modern  mis- 
sions may  bo  better  appreciated  by  one  who  inspects 


SITEKNATUIIAL    FACTolJS. 

them  in  both  hemispheres,  not  as  a  missionary,  not  as 
a  hurrying  tourist,  but  as  a  patient,  candid,  serious 
student  of  God's  movements  in  human  history. 

Returning  home  from  this  eighth  foreign  tour,  which 
represents  nearly  a  year's  absence  and  thirty  thousand 
miles'  travel,  an  unexpected  summons  meets  me  to  ad- 
dress this  Conference  on  the  first  day  of  its  delibera- 
tions. No  theme  has  been  assigned ;  but  a  few  thoughts 
occur  to  me  on  a  subject  on  which  I  have  often  re- 
flected, but  never  before  spoken,  The  inherent  mo- 
mentum of  ideas  and  the  special  acceleration  of  that 
momentum  which  God  is  to  give  in  these  latter  days. 

Von  Herder,  when  dying  said,  "  Give  me  a  great 
thought  that  I  may  be  refreshed."  "We  want  great 
thoughts  to  live  by,  to  refresh  us  in  the  strenuous  ac- 
tivities of  a  service  in  which  the  most  devoted  are 
sometimes  weary  and  depressed.  Have  we  not  here 
an  exhilarating  truth,  the  mighty  vigor,  velocity  and 
vitality  of  ideas,  when  once  started  on  their  endless 
career  ? 

When  railways  were  first  opened  in  Spain  we  are 
told  that  the  simple-minded  peasants,  supposing  that 
the  trains  could  stop  any  where,  any  time,  as  easily  as 
a  mule  or  ox  team,  stood  on  the  track  and  were  fre- 
quently run  over.  They  had  no  conception  of  speed 
and  momentum.  Herbert  Spencer  uses  the  incident 
to  characterize  the  mental  incapacity  of  those  who 
cannot  comprehend  the  ever-increasing  momentum  of 
ideas  in  the  world.  "An  idea  is  mightier  than  a 
million  men,"  said  Dr.  Edward  Beecher,  the  pastor  of 
my  boyhood.  It  is  true.  Men  are  circumscribed  by 
physical  limitations  to  which  spiritual  forces  are 
strangers.  A  man  can  be  in  but  one  place  at  a  time  ; 
he  comes  and  he  goes;  h<-  lives  and  dies;  but  these 


THE  ACCELERATION  OP  GOD*S  MOVEMENTS.  Si) 

unseen  increments  which  we  call  ideas,  travel  as  the 
light  by  which  we  see,  abide  with  us  as  the  air  by 
which  we  breathe,  brood  over  us  as  do  these  star-lit 
heavens  to-night,  all-encompassing,  pervasive,  eternal ! 
Embodied,  they  become  laws,  literatures,  civilizations. 
Institutions  are  called  the  lengthened  shadows  of  sin- 
gle lives.  Luther  gave  the  world  Lutheranism,  and 
Calvin,  Calvinism  ;  so  all  history  is  but  the  biography 
of  a  few  sturdy  souls,  as  Emerson  has  said,  and  these 
souls  are  the  incarnation  of  ideas,  the  onward  march  of 
which  nothing  can  obstruct.  It  is  a  perilous  thing  to 
antagonize  ideas  which  express  essential  truth.  It  is 
to  commit  the  folly  of  those  who  have  put  out  a  foot  to 
stop  what  was  thought  to  be  a  spent  cannon  ball,  and 
have  thereby  lost  a  leg.  There  is  nothing  so  revolu- 
tionary and  convulsive  to  society,  Dr.  Thomas  Arnold 
has  said,  "  as  the  strain  to  keep  things  fixed,  when  all 
the  world,  by  the  law  of  its  being,  is  in  eternal  pro- 
gress." 

Confucius  attempted  this  when  he  taught  that  China's 
work  was  not  to  create,  but  to  conserve  and  transmit. 
Hence  the  usages  of  centuries  crystalize  into  unvary- 
ing forms.  Her  people  have  been  content  to  follow 
ancestral  traditions  ;  to  think,  live  and  act  as  those 
before  them,  indifferent  to  new  conditions,  possibili- 
ties and  responsibilities.  The  nation  is  fitly  com- 
pared tp  Lot's  wife,  looking  backward,  wedded  to  the 
past,  vainly  hoping  to  resist  the  influences  which  im- 
pel the  human  race  onward. 

It  was  observed  at  one  of  the  Northtield  meetings 
that  "  the  Lord  himself  cannot  switch  a  motionless 
engine."  There  can  be  no  guidance  of  stationary  ob- 
jects. To  go  right  we  must  move.  God  said  to  Moses, 
"  Speak  to  the  children  of  Israel  that  they  go  for- 


00  SUPERNATURAL   FACTORS. 

ward ! "  Jesus  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Launch  forth 
into  the  deep  !  "  "\Vheu  the  germinal  impulse  of  an 
idea  is  divine,  its  mission  is  world-wide  and  its  power 
deific.  Inspired  of  God  and  guided  by  Him,  it  is  not 
a  transient,  purposeless  thing,  but  a  gigantic  moral 
force,  a  strange,  intrusive,  resistless  energy,  ubiquitous 
and  immortal !  It  will  not  die  with  the  life  first  in- 
spired by  it,  but  live  in  other  lives,  and  so  wields  a 
power  richer  in  quality,  vaster  in  limit  and  more  com- 
manding in  influence  as  the  years  go  on.  This  is 
spiritual  momentum. 

The  possessor  and  herald  of  such  eternal  verities  is 
not  to  timidly  stand,  as  did  the  propounder  of  a  new 
law  in  olden  time  in  England,  who  placed  himself 
meekly  in  the  market-place  with  a  halter  about  his 
neck,  with  which  the  populace  might  hang  him  if 
displeased  with  the  innovation  ;  but  he  is  to  enunciate 
them  with  the  imperative  emphasis  of  authority. 
Nothing  in  the  world  is  so  intolerant  as  truth.  It 
brooks  no  rival  and  stoops  to  no  compromise.  Truth 
is  the  reality  of  things,  and  therefore  is  unchangeable 
in  every  age  and  every  clime  ;  therefore  is  mandatory, 
unconquerable  and  eternal.  There  is  unspeakable  com- 
fort in  this  thought  for  the  weary  worker,  oppressed 
by  the  burden,  depressed  by  the  obstacles  in  his  work. 
But  there  is  another  quickening  thought. 

In  latter  days  we  may  expect  an  acceleration  of 
God's  movements  in  human  history.  He  is  not  slack 
concerning  His  promises,  though  their  fulfillment  may 
seem  to  us  very  slow.  The  martyred  saints  above  are 
crying,  "  How  long,  O  Lord  ? "  and  the  tired  earth 
below,  with  its  old  headache  and  heartache,  repeats 
the  same  appealing  prayer,  "How  long?"  This 
Gibraltar  of  heathenism  before  us  here  stands  firm  in 


THE   ACCELERATION    Otf   GOD*S   MOVEMENTS.  91 

its  stony  strength,  hoary  with  age,  apparently  invul- 
nerable. Sixty  generations  of  missionaries,  resolute, 
robust,  consecrated  men  and  women,  have  passed  by, 
each  smiting  heavy  blows.  Fragments  have  fallen, 
but  the  mountain  stands.  Scoffers  sneer.  It  is  not 
easy  to  answer  the  scorn  of  the  godless,  "  who  find 
the  salt  of  their  wit  in  the  brine  of  our  tears."  It  is  not 
easy  to  hush  our  own  doubts  and  fears.  But  we  do  know 
that  "  God's  chronometer  never  loses  time."  Ideas 
are  imperishable.  The  mind  is  a  palimpsest.  What 
appears  to  have  been  lost  will  surely  reappear.  The 
on-going  of  truth  is  irresistable.  Now,  to  its  intrinsic 
momentum  we  believe  that  God's  outstretched  arm  will 
give,  as  it  were,  an  added  push,  to  make  what  He  caUs 
"  a  short  work  "  of  it  as  the  end  of  all  things  hastens. 
Has  He  not  promised  that  the  plowman  shall  overtake 
the  reaper,  the  treader  of  grapes  the  sower  of  seed, 
and  that  a  nation  shall  be  born  at  once  ?  This  con- 
ception rebukes  the  pessimistic  philosophy  of  those 
who  see  the  world  going  to  the  bad,  and  fancy  that 
their  duty  is  but  to  save  here  and  there  a  few  from  the 
wreck.  Macaulay  says  that  in  his  day  he  saw  nothing 
but  progress,  yet  he  heard  only  of  decay  ;  the  birds  of 
ill  omen  chanting  their  saddest  notes  when  the  future 
was  brightest.  No,  no !  we  are  in  no  sinking  ship ; 
we  are  following  no  failing  cause  !  God's  word  returns 
not  void.  His  truth  is  omnipotent,  and  its  onward 
velocity  increases  every  decade.  We  may  expect  a 
more  rapid  evangelization  of  the  world  as  a  result. 
The  branch  of  the  Lord  grows  more  beautiful  and 
comely,  the  fruit  of  the  earth  more  excellent.  The 
light  of  the  moon  is  to  change  to  the  splendor  of  the 
sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  is  to  be  sevenfold,  as  the 
light  of  seven  days. 


92  SUPERNATURAL  FACTORS. 

The  splendid  leaps  of  science  in  the  discovery  and 
application  of  physical  forces  are  a  type  and  promise  of 
the  augmentation  of  personal  power  and  holiness  in 
the  Church  of  Christ.  There  is  coming  a  manlier  life, 
more  healthful  and  aggressive.  The  feeble  knees  are 
to  be  strengthened,  the  lame  man  is  to  leap  as  the 
hart,  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  is  to  sing.  One  will 
chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight. 
Those  who  have  been  weak  in  the  church  are  to  be- 
come as  David,  and  the  house  of  David  as  God. 

Years  of  preparation  seem  slow  and  fruitless ;  but 
enterprises  move  with  increased  celerity  when  the  pre- 
paratory work  is  done.  Standing  in  St.  Isaac's  Church, 
St.  Petersburg,  I  thought  of  the  many  millions  spent 
in  its  erection,  largely  on  the  foundations.  A  Russian 
forest  wras  sunk  in  the  form  of  piles.  After  this  long, 
tedious  work  was  done,  the  massive  monoliths,  the 
marble  and  malachite,  the  jasper  and  the  gold,  went 
readily  to  their  places.  Fitly  framed  together,  the 
building  stood  complete,  "  frozen  music,  an  anthem  in 
stone."  So  men  and  millions  were  sacrificed  in  exca- 
vations at  Hell  Gate,  in  East  River,  New  York.  The 
years  went  on  and  we  saw  no  fruits.  But  the  tiny 
finger  of  Mary  Newton  on  an  electric  button  exploded 
the  powder  and  dynamite,  and  in  an  instant  removed 
a  formidable  barrier  to  navigation.  One  day  a  hea- 
then in  India  ran  after  a  missionary  and  bade  him  not 
be  discouraged,  for  there  is,  he  said,  a  silent,  secret 
work  going  on  among  his  people.  The  whole  fabric 
of  heathenism  is  honeycombed,  and  some  day  will 
suddenly  disintegrate.  Prophetic  signs  multiply.  When 
Neesima  of  Japan  was  buried,  Buddhist  priests  sent 
memorial  banners  as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  herald 
uf  a  gospel  they  did  not  accept,  but  the  conquering 


THE   ACCELERATION   OF  GOD'S   MOVEMENTS.  93 

power  of  which  they  acknowledged.  No  arithmetic  of 
ours  can  calculate  the  movements  of  Iinmanuel,  but  we 
do  know  that  "  His  going  forth  is  as  the  morning," 
brighter  and  swifter,  till  the  noontide  splendor  of  His 
reign  is  reached. 

Coming  out  of  St.  Peter's  one  day,  wearied  with  the 
caricatures  of  Christian  worship,  my  delighted  eyes 
read  on  the  Egyptian  obelisk  that  graces  the  square, 
CHRISTUS  REGNAT  !  Not  "  Christ  will  reign,"  a  prom- 
ise and  a  hope  ;  not  has  reigned,  a  memory  and  re- 
gret; a  Troja  fait,  something  that  was  and  is  no  more; 
but  CHRIST  REIGNS  !  in  Rome,  in  China,  in  all  the 
world  !  The  government  is  on  His  shoulders.  The 
scepter  is  in  His  hands.  He  is  the  center  of  truth,  the 
summit  of  history,  the  goal  of  human  hope !  Halle- 
lujah !  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth  !  Come, 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly  ! 

There  are  two  audiences  T  behold  before  me.  Be- 
yond and  above  this  eager,  listening  congregation  I 
see  a  larger  throng,  I  hear  a  sweeter  choir.  There  is 
an  innumerable  assembly  of  redeemed  ones  gathered 
from  every  land  and  language ;  apostles,  saints  and 
martyrs  ;  a  white-robed  company.  There  are  converts 
from  every  clime.  There  are  faces  that  are  familiar  ; 
feet  that  will  soon  fly  to  meet  us ;  lips  that  wait  to 
greet  us  ;  but  best  of  all,  there  is  Jesus,  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation,  under  whose  illustrious  leadership  we 
are  marching,  and  at  whose  pierced  feet  it  will  soon  be 
our  joy  to  cast  our  crowns !  Let  us  ever  walk  under 
the  shadow  of  these  august  realities,  feeling  the  in- 
spiration of  His  presence,  the  thrilling  impulse  of  His 
truth,  day  by  day,  till  we  are  summoned  one  by  one  to 
meet  Him  face  to  face,  when  our  joy  shall  be  supernal 
and  eternal,  in  the  presence  of  the  KING  ! 


CHAPTEE  X. 
PRACTICAL  PROBLEMS. 

First,  What  should  be  our  attitude  towards  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Orient  ?  How  shall  the  Anglo-Saxon  ap- 
proach the  Asiatic  in  the  intercourse  which  modern 
civilization  has  established  throughout  the  earth  ? 
Can  we  of  the  West  come  to  an  agreement  as  to  the 
true  temper  in  which  we  are  to  meet  them  ?  As  a 
whole,  Asiatic  people  are  not  friendly  to  foreign  ideas. 
They  have  looked  upon  those  of  other  nations  among 
them  as  intruders  ;  their  aim  as  either  mercenary  or 
political ;  their  ideas  revolutionary,  and  their  presence 
a  menace  to  their  civilization.  Can  we  wonder  at  this 
distrust,  when  we  see  the  prejudice  here  towards  the 
very  people  of  the  East  whom  we  once  invited  to  our 
shores  ?  Can  pagans  be  blamed  for  expressing  their 
antipathy  by  as  active  measures  of  expulsion  as  we 
ourselves  have  adopted  towards  them  ? 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  Christian  nations 
must  divest  themselves  of  the  pride  and  prejudice  of 
race  if  they  would  hope,  under  God,  to  secure  the 
moral  conquest  of  the  earth.  The  teacher,  preacher 
or  the  merchant,  going  to  the  East,  must  carry  broad 
sympathies,  founded  not  only  on  moral  considerations, 
but  on  an  intellectual  appreciation  of  what  these  na- 
tions are  to-day  as  historic  factors  in  the  world's  de- 
velopment. We  have  brieHy  indicated  the  gem-sis  and 
growth  of  Asiatic  thought,  the  outlines  of  character, 
art,  industry,  literature  and  social  life.  Enough  has 


MUTUAL  ACQUAINTANCE.  'Jo 

• 

been  adduced  as  evidence  to  validate  the  statement  of 
Sir  William  Jones  with  which  we  began.  Yet  there 
are  few  who  really  appreciate  what  the  East  is,  and 
what  it  has  done  for  the  West.  The  lack  of  informa- 
tion on  the  part  of  intelligent  people  is  amazing,  when 
the  literature  of  the  subject  is  so  opulent,  attractive 
and  cheap.* 

MUTUAL  ACQUAINTANCE. 

The  scorn  of  the  Oriental  for  the  European  comes 
from  ignorance.  He  looks  down  from  his  position  as 
inheritor  of  ancient  religious,  philosophies  and  social 
customs  upon  the  new  comer  as  a  mere  upstart,  a 
parvenu,  if  not  a  barbarian  or  demon.  Coming  to  In- 
dia full  of  conceit,  the  Englishman  has  shown  similar 
scorn,  and  has  been  heard  to  say  of  the  Hindu,  "  He 
is  only  a  nigger  !  "  For  the  proud-spirited  Japanese, 
strangers  have  sometimes  shown  no  more  regard. 
"  Natives  may  apply  for  admission  at  the  back  door," 
was  the  notice  posted  by  one  family  at  their  front  en- 
trance. Another  case  I  heard  of,  where  a  man  who 
taught  a  school  of  three  hundred  boys,  in  ignorance  or 
in  defiance  of  the  old  samurai  spirit  that  still  survives 
there,  gave  one  of  them  a  caning,  as  he  would  had  he 
had  a  Yorkshire  school  and  Smike  for  a  pupil.  For- 
tunately, there  was  no  Nicholas  Nickleby  to  return 
blow  for  blow,  and  the  foreigner  escaped  from  the 
place  unharmed,  but  more  than  three-quarters  of  the 

*  Dr.  Pierson  says  that  but  one  out  of  forty,  of  the  72U,(KH»  com- 
municants of  his  branch  of  the  church,  takes  the  only  missionary 
magazine  of  the  denomination.  He  says  that  ignorance  is  the  great 
obstacle,  and  information  the  foremost  need.  He  cites  incidents  of 
astounding  ignorance  of  missions  on  the  part  of  Christians,  and  also 
in  the  case  of  journalists  and  public  men.  Missionary  Review,  July, 
1890. 


'•)()  1'K.UTICAL    PROBLEMS. 

• 

students  at  once  left.     The  injury  to  the  school  proved 
irreparable. 

A  meeting  of  women  in  Washington  recently  ex- 
pressed their  approval  of  the  exclusion  of  Chinese  in 
a  resolution  which  stigmatized  that  imperial  race  as 
"  hordes  of  leprous  Mongolians."  There  are  lepers  in 
the  East,  and  there  are  thousands  of  imbeciles  here. 
Is  it  any  more  fair  to  call  one  people  leprous,  than  to 
call  the  other  idiotic  ?  A  little  more  knowledge  and 
candor  will  wonderfully  help  in  the  solution  of  some 
of  these  international  problems. ••  What  is  needed,  is 
not  "  a  race  sentiment,"  as  a  NCAV  York  daily  urges, 
a  recrudescence  of  Know-nothing-ism,  or  any  such 
spirit  of  exclusiveness  and  hate,  but,  rather,  a  revival 
of  magnanimity,  of  Christian  brotherhood  and  unself- 
ish interest  in  all  men  as  our  kin,  whatever  be  their 
color  or  their  clime.  A  wealthy,  powerful  nation  can 
afford  to  be  both  just  and  generous.  Noblesse  oblige. 

ETHNIC  EELIGIONS. 

A  second  problem  concerns  our  attitude  towards 
Oriental  religions  and  the  customs  which  they  make 
obligatory  upon  the  people.  We  may  take  the  ex- 
treme of  those  who  are  disputatious,  antagonistic, 
belligerent;  cut  down,  root  and  branch,  everything 
distinctly  heathen.  Or  we  may  be  temporizing,  sub- 
servient, concurrent.  The  former  demand  the  aban- 

*  Royse  in  his  Study  of  Genius  says,  "  If  we  catechize  human  his- 
tory, we  shall  find  that  all  the  great  achievements  of  the  past,  whether 
material  or  intellectual,  social  or  political,  have  proceeded  from  but 
two  of  the  five  generally  recognized  races-  the  Caucasian  and  the 
Mongolian.  All  the  extraordinary  individuals,  the  geniuses,  known  to 
us  have  emerged  from  one  or  the  other  of  the  branches  of  these  most 
iulluontial  races."  Mongols  ("brave")  form  nearly  one-half  the 
human  family,  according  to  Professor  Dieterici. 


ETHNIC   RELIGIONS.  97 

doument  of  all  social  usages  tinctured  with  super- 
stition. They  are  stringent,  coercive,  uncompromising. 
Others  come,  as  did  a  recent  embassy  from  Boston  to 
Japan,  "  to  confer  "  with  Confucianist,  Buddhist  and 
Shinto  as  to  some  common  ground  of  humanitarian 
work,  ignoring  as  dead  issues  the  beliefs  on  which 
idolaters  and  Christians  differ,  and  making  personal 
sympathy  the  simple  bond  between  them.  This  em- 
bassy had  much  in  common  with  Japanese,  they  said, 
and  sought  to  supplement,  not  to  overthrow,  existing 
religions. 

Between  these  antipodal  positions  stands  the  intelli- 
gent missionary.  He  has  made  himself  acquainted 
with  the  fact  that  religion  in  the  East  is  a  regnant 
power,  ubiquitous  and  authoritative,  entering  into  the 
personal  and  social  life,  into  history,  art,  law  and 
language.  He  appreciates  what  is  really  excellent  in 
Asian  thought,  as  the  wisdom  of  Vedic  verse  and  all 
that  is  beautiful  and  dutiful  in  Confucian  morality. 
He  realizes  the  vitality  of  hereditary  instincts,  and  he 
respects  the  rights  of  conscience  everywhere.  He  aims 
to  Christianize,  but  not  to  Anglicize.  Confident  in  the 
power  of  the  gospel  to  reconstruct  society,  observant 
of  the  changes  in  Eastern  life  already  accomplished  by 
contact  with  Western  thought — partly  compulsory 
through  military  force  or  international  treaty,  and 
partly  spontaneous,  through  conviction — he  waits  with 
patience  and  courage  for  providential  developments  in 
the  near  future  still  greater  than  those  in  the  past. 
He  is  loyal  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Toleration  of 
idolatry  is  treason  to  Christianity.  But  a  precipitate 
assault  on  time-honored  customs,  such  as  the  seclusion 
of  women,  the  betrothal  of  infants,  the  adoration  of  the 
departed,  foot  binding,  clan  tax,  burning  of  lettered 


98  PRACTICAL  PROBLEMS. 

paper,  or  decoration  of  graves,  he  sees  may  at  once 
create  such  a  revulsion  of  feeling  as  will  be  likely 
to  prevent  any  further  intercourse  with  those  whom 
he  would  benefit. 

The  true  philosophy  of  reform  is  that  of  substitution 
and  exchange,  of  transfer  and  recompense.  Light  dis- 
places darkness,  and  the  love  of  Christ  secures  the  ex- 
pulsion of  all  His  foes.  It  is  better  to  draw  than 
drive ;  to  gain  by  gentle  indirection  what  we  cannot 
get  by  abrupt  assault. 

NATIVE  CUSTOMS. 

Ancestor  worship  is  universal  in  the  East.  It  is 
"  The  keystone  of  China's  social  fabric,"  and  for  more 
than  four  thousand  years  has  been  the  most  august 
ceremonial  of  their  ancient  faith.  The  adoption  of  an 
heir  to  the  throne,  or  the  succession  of  a  son,  in  order, 
is  signalized  by  this  solemn  homage.  The  ancestral 
temple  is  the  rallying  point  for  each  family  clan,  and 
the  humblest  home  has  its  little  shrine,  its  lettered 
tablets  and  its  daily  incense  burning  before  the  spirits 
of  the  dead.  It  is  claimed  that  filial  piety  is  its  es- 
sence, and  that  its  observance  has  consolidated  and 
perpetuated  the  empire  for  ages ;  that  to  oppose  it  is 
to  do  violence  to  the  best  feelings  of  the  heart  and 
needlessly  to  engender  among  the  common  people,  as 
well  as  among  the  learned  or  ruling  class,  hatred  to- 
wards Christianity. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  hear  the  long  and  animated 
discussion  of  the  subject  at  the  Shanghai  Conference. 
In  no  debate  was  there  more  warmth  of  feeling  shown. 
Learned  scholars  gave  us  a  history  of  the  cult,  and  our 
oldest  missionaries  rehearsed  their  experience ;  but 
the  most  effective  reply  to  the  appeal  for  toleration, 


NATIVE    CUSTOMS.  99 

• 

or  the  laisser  faire  method,  was  by  a  highly  educated 
native  pastor.  He  was  specially  qualified  as  a  con- 
verted heathen  to  reflect  the  real  feelings  of  his  peo- 
ple, both  pagan  and  Christian.  Mr.  Yen  affirms  that, 
with  rare  exceptions,  the  divine  honor  and  human  rev- 
erence are  inseparable  in  ancestor  worship.  "  If  they 
do  the  one,  the  other  is  involved  in  it.  The  associa- 
tion has  become  so  hereditary  among  the  Chinese, 
that  to  prostrate  and  to  make  offerings,  bring  up  in 
their  minds  the  feeling  that  the  spirits  are  present, 
hear  their  prayers,  accept  their  gifts,  and  in  return 
will  care  for  them  ;  in  short,  will  do  for  them  what 
Christians  believe  that  God  can  do."  He  approves 
the  method  adopted  by  his  Christian  countrymen  of 
rearing  over  a  grave  a  monumental  cross,  inscribed 
with  verses  from  the  Scriptures,  and  the  planting  of 
flowers  ;  also,  in  place  of  the  domestic  tablet,  hanging 
up  a  framed  photograph,  with  the  phrase  appended, 
"  In  Paradise."  This  will  illustrate  the  way  in  which 
a  wise  man  will  avoid  needless  collisions,  while  main- 
taining his  fealty  to  truth. 

At  another  time  the  objector  was  silenced  by  this 
reply  :  "  It  is  you,  not  we,  who  dishonor  the  dead, 
for  you  assume  that  their  hungry  ghosts  will  come  and 
plague  you  unless  you  appease  them  with  offerings. 
They  treated  you  kindly  here,  and  you  degrade  them 
and  do  their  character  injustice  by  attributing  to  them 
such  a  disposition  now.  Confucius  has  said  that  you 
should  treat  them  as  you  did  on  earth."  A  foreigner 
on  entering  a  Chinese  town  was  assailed  by  a  shower 
of  missiles.  He  calmly  faced  tin;  crowd  jind  quoted 
the  memorable  precept  of  Confucius,  "  Not  to  do  to 
another  what  we  should  not  wish  him  to  do  to  us." 
At  once  opposition  ceased,  and  the  ringleaders,  im- 


100  PRACTICAL   PROBLEMS. 

• 

pressed  with  his  adroitness,  caine  forward  and  apolo- 
gized to  the  stranger. 

The  Oriental  carries  a  heavy  pecuniary  burden  in 
maintaining  ancestral  worship.  Dr.  Yates  estimates 
the  annual  expense  to  China,  alone,  of  this  adoration 
of  the  dead  to  be  £151,752,000 — more  than  ten  tim;  s 
the  expense  of  Buddhism  and  Confucianism  combined. 
In  Tndia  the  Shradda  is  a  service  to  provide  the  de- 
parted spirit  with  a  body.  A  man  without  a  son  to 
make  offerings  falls  into  hell.  Enormous  sums  arc 
paid  to  get  a  soul  out  of  this  purgatorial  disquiet. 
High  families,  as  well  as  low,  impoverish  themselves 
for  the  remainder  of  their  lives  by  burial,  as  in  bridal, 
expenses.  One  funeral  and  Shradda  cost  $600,000, 
"  the  greater  part  of  that  amount  being  squandered  on 
worthless  Brahmins,  indolent,  pundits,  hypocritical 
devotees  and  vagabond  religious  mendicants."  In 
both  China  and  India  infanticide  and  suicide  have 
often  been  connected  with  the  idolatrous  customs  re- 
ferred to.  The  attitude  of  the  missionary  should  be, 
of  course,  that  of  uncompromising  opposition. 

The  barbarous  mutilation  of  the  female  foot  began 
A.  D.  600,  introduced  by  Mauchu  Tartars.  It  prevails 
among  the  poor.  No  small  footed  women  are  allowed 
in  the  palace  or  grounds  of  the  Emperor.  At  first, 
missionaries  tolerated  the  inhuman  practice,  though 
one  of  them  writes,  "  I  have  heard  cries  of  anguish 
that  might  have  moved  the  very  rocks  to  pity."  In 
1875,  the  Fooehow  M.  E.  Mission  resolved  to  forbid  it 
among  their  churches.  Other  bodies  have  taken  simi- 
lar action.  To  avoid  the  suspicion  of  being  a  lewd 
character,  "  a  Christian  shoe,  similar  to  that  of  the 
Empress,  a  Tartar,  was  made  and  worn."  T/ie  Chinese 
Recorder,  June,  1878,  mentions  a  number  of  cases 


ASCETICISM   IN   MISSIONS.  101 

where  unbound  feet  liave  recovered  so  much  of  their 
former  motion,  that  girls  not  only  walked  and  carried 
burdens,  but  ran  once  more.  Miss  Noyes  last  year 
had  but  five  out  of  nine-two  girls  in  her  school  in 
Canton,  with  deformed  feet,  and  thinks  that  the  cruel 
custom  will,  in  time,  be  abandoned. 

ASCETICISM  IN  MISSIONS. 

Speaking  in  reference  to  celibacy,  Mr.  Yen  remarked 
that  "  There  is  no  rule.  In  some  places  married 
people  are  better ;  in  others,  single  people.  So  in 
dress,  each  man  must  j  udge  for  himself,  in  the  place 
where  he  moves.  There  is  no  cast  iron  rule  to 
suit  all  cases.  Where  foreigners  are  better  known, 
and  where  they  would  look  strange  if  wearing  Chinese 
dress,  let  them  wear  the  foreign ;  but  in  places 
Avhere  Chinese  dress  is  more  convenient,  and  the 
foreign  would  be  novel  to  the  Chinese,  let  them  wear 
the  Chinese." 

Every  plant  has  its  habitat.  Monastic  brotherhoods 
and  sisterhoods  are  exotics  on  Protestant  soil.  I  called 
on  one  community  of  celibates  in  India  and,  from  what 
was  seen  and  learned,  the  work  impressed  me  favor- 
ably. Still,  the  query  put  by  the  Indian  Witness 
comes  to  mind  :  "  Why  should  the  absence  of  the 
family,  God's  unit  of  human  society,  be  so  highly  es- 
teemed ?  "  To  begin  by  presenting  the  heathen  with 
a  false  ideal  of  Christianity  is  to  prejudice  the  work 
from  the  start.  "  One  might  suppose,"  says  Dr.  Ellin- 
wood,  "  that  asceticism  had  been  tried  long  enough  in 
India  and  throughout  the  East.  The  moral  and  re- 
ligious life  has  gone  to  corruption  and  decay  in  spite 
of  hordes  of  beggars  and  fakirs.  What  have  the  mon- 
asteries of  Sinai  and  Lebanon  done  for  the  regeuera- 


102  PRACTICAL  PROBLEMS. 

tion  of  the  Holy  Land  ?  What  did  a  celibate  and 
cloistered  priesthood  accomplish  for  Mexico  through 
three  hundred  years  of  undisputed  sway  ?  The  Greek 
and  Latin  churches  of  the  Levant,  lacking  the  domestic 
element,  have  scarcely  held  their  ground ;  they  have 
received  from  Islam  a  deeper  impress  than  they  have 
given.  Why,  then,  should  Protestant  Christendom 
yield  to  the  cry  of  those  who,  in  the  very  midst  of  in- 
creasing success,  would  turn  to  the  effete  agencies  of 
the  past  ?  "  Why  should  our  exiled  missionaries  and 
their  wives,  he  says,  be  asked  to  add  to  the  dreary 
and  depressing  influence  of  a  life  among  idolaters  the 
misery  of  a  beggar's  bowl,  while  Christians  at  home 
are  surfeited  in  their  self-indulgence  ?  *  Is  this  the 
time  to  turn  the  last  screw  of  impoverishment  on  their 
kindred  and  brethren  abroad  ?  Is  this  the  way  to  im- 
press heathen  with  the  divinity  of  our  religion  and  the 
honesty  of  our  purpose  ?  The  suggestion  is  simply 
monstrous !  The  system  of  asceticism,  Dr.  Cyrus 
Hamlin  justly  observes,  "  Protestantism  has  rejected 
with  overwhelming  abhorence  and  scorn." 

Dr.  Ellinwood  once  visited  a  missionary  whose  field 
of  labor  was  amid  equatorial  heats,  and  whose  miser- 
able abode  was  directly  under  the  tiled  roof  of  a  ware- 
house. His  income  was  near  the  starvation  point. 
The  scant  dress  of  wife  and  child  revealed  numerous 
boils,  of  which  they  had  had  ninety,  the  result,  in  part, 
of  defective  nutrition  and  poverty  of  blood.  He  notes 
the  incident  "  for  the  benefit  of  those  well-to-do  Chris- 
tians who  think  that  self-immolation  is  the  duty  of 


*  Dr.  Gracey  says,  "After  Protestant  Christianity  has  used  all  it 
needed,  given  all  it  would,  and  wasted  most  wantonly,  it  yet  has  a 
reserve  of  UNSPENT  fortune,  reaching  the  enormous  sum  of  FIVE  HUN- 
DRED MILLION  DOLLARS  annually  ! " 


QUALIFICATIONS. 

the  foreign  missionary."     If  asceticism  be  tried,  let  it 
begin  at  liome.t 

Having  surveyed  some  of  the  unique  features  of  the 
field,  we  are  ready  to  consider  a  third  problem,  the 
selection  of  the  missionary  force. 

QUALIFICATIONS. 

Mr.  Meredith  Townsend,  in  The  Contemporary 
Keview,  has  lately  discussed  the  proposition  of  send- 
ing out  "  Cheap  Missionaries,"  whatever  that  phrase 
may  mean.  He  would,  however,  substitute  this  plan  : 
Let  each  ordained  minister  from  these  shores  till  his 
place  abroad  as  a  true  bishop,  taking  that  word,  he 
says,  in  its  accurate  sense.  Each  bishop  is  to  train 
and  use  native  evangelists,  thousands  of  whom  there 
are  on  the  ground  already.  They  are  fully  acclimat- 
ized ;  they  have  no  languages  to  learn,  and  no  preju- 
dices to  unlearn.  They  understand  the  thought  of 
their  countrymen,  and  can  rouse  that  enthusiasm 
which  the  European  sighs  for  in  vain.  A  hundred  of 
them  might  be  had  in  India  for  seventy-five  dollars 
each  per  annum.  Put  under  the  seven  hundred  Prot- 
estant missionaries  there,  they  would  form  a  force  of 
seventy  thousand  native  preachers,  who  would  "  do 
the  work  infinitely  better  than  that  which  is  sought  to 
bo  done  through  cheap  missionaries." 

That  Orientals  are  to  be  brought  to  Christ  by  Ori- 
entals is  a  truism,  but  it  needs  repetition.  How  far 
the  native  church  is  to  be  relieved  of  the  responsibil- 
ity of  supporting  its  own  evangelists  is  a  delicate  ques- 
tion. Some  missionaries  say,  with  Mr.  Cardwell  of 
Shanghai,  "  No  native  helper  should  be  paid  out  of 

f  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  Sep.  188'.),  pp.  685,  698  ;  Jau. 
1890,  Dec.,  p.  947;  Feb.  18'Jl,  p.  1U5,  April,  p.  251. 


104  PRACTICAL  PROBLEMS. 

mission  funds,  but  by  the  native  church.  If  paid 
agency  had  never  been  adopted,  we  should  have  had 
a  far  more  spiritual  and  earnest  Chinese  church  than 
we  have  to-day."  On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Corbett  of 
Chefoo  says  that  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  an J 
foreign  money  should  be  used  when  the  native  church 
is  not  self-supporting,  on  the  same  ground  that  aid  is 
furnished  to  destitute  communities  at  home.  It  was 
said  at  the  Shanghai  Conference  that  five  hundred 
native  evangelists  would  be  a  far  greater  power  than 
five  thousand  foreigners,  and  that  this  number  would 
soon  be  spread  over  China,  if  her  forty  thousand  con- 
verts realized  the  privilege  they  now  have  of  evan- 
gelizing their  own  country. 

Dr.  Edkins  urged  that  Christian  laymen  come  to 
the  East  and  introduce  Western  arts  and  industries. 
Those  who  are  skilled  in  trade  and  manufactures  will 
aid  in  developing  the  commercial  products  of  the" coun- 
try. They  will  be  allies  to  the  missions,  and  also  make 
themselves  valuable  to  the  government. 

Who  can  estimate  the  value  of  the  services  of  such  a 
man  as  Hon.  S.  Welles  Williams,  who  acted  as  inter- 
preter and  Secretary  of  the  U.  S.  Legation  in  the 
negotiation  of  treaties  and  in  other  diplomatic  rela- 
tions ?  Our  Consuls  and  Ministers  abroad  occupy 
posts  of  high  influence  and  broad  observation.  They 
may,  and  some  of  them  do,  render  efficient  aid  to  mis- 
sions. Addressing  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia  on 
his  return  from  the  Orient,  U.  S.  Minister  Heed  re- 
marked, "  I  went  to  the  East  with  no  enthusiasm  as 
to  missionary  enterprise.  I  come  back  with  the  fixed 
conviction  that  it  is,  under  Providence,  the  great  agent 
of  civilization.  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  add,  that  every- 
where in  Asia  and  Africa,  among  the  Kaffirs  in  Natal, 


QUALIFICATIONS.  105 

on  the  continent  of  India,  among  the  forests  of  Cey- 
lon, and  over  the  vast  expanse  of  China,  the  testimony 
to  the  success  and  zeal  of  our  countrymen,  as  mission- 
aries of  truth,  is  earnest  and  concurrent.  I  heard  it 
everywhere  and  from  high  authority." 

As  to  health  qualifications,  it  should  be  said  that 
the  climate  of  the  East,  is  specially  trying  to  those  of 
weak  nerves  and  prone  to  extremes  of  excitabilty  and 
depression.  The  process  of  acclimatization  brings  a 
mental  and  physical  strain.  If  this  and  the  added 
burden  of  acquiring  the  language  be  successfully  un- 
dergone by  ladies  before  marriage,  it  will  be  a  great 
gain.  So  says  Rev.  J.  Hudson  Taylor,  after  many 
years'  residence  in  China. 

Personal  presence  is  a  factor  of  influence,  even  more 
noticeable  than  at  home.  The  leading  journal  of  Cal- 
cutta ascribes  much  of  the  success  of  Dr.  Pentecost  to 
"  his  striking  personality  and  manner."  It  would  be 
easy  to  name  others  whose  capacity,  natural  leader- 
ship, manliness  and  self-control  make  them  masters  in 
every  emergency ;  whose  eye,  voice,  hand  and  step 
create  a  magnetic  sphere,  into  which  to  enter  is  to 
capitulate  to  a  psychic  force  which  is  as  hard  to  de- 
scribe, as  it  is  to  resist.  I  once  was  led  about  an 
ancient  Chinese  city  by  such  a  Greatheart.  His  genial 
smile  disarmed  the  opposition  which  his  audacity 
would  have  otherwise  created.  The  fluency  of  his 
speech  and  his  wit  charmed  those  who  were  attracted 
by  his  fine  physique ;  then,  above  all,  his  moral  ear- 
nestness gave  him  a  ready  mastery  of  men.  We  went 
into  two  great  opium  dens,  where  a  thousand  natives 
in  each  congregate  to  smoke  •'  foreign  dirt "  daily. 
He  boldly  reproved  the  men  and  their  female  com- 
panions for  their  immoralities,  but  in  such  a  way  that 


106  PRACTICAL    PROBLEMS. 

he  commanded  their  respect.  During  the  recent  riots 
he  saved  valuable  property  by  his  fearless  and  heroic 
conduct,  at  one  time  holding  a  murderous  crowd  at 
bay  with  his  revolver,  for  half  an  hour,  until  the 
magistrate  arrived.  In  Japan  and  India  I  met  others 
of  this  knightly,  chivalric  spirit,  which  has,  to  a  great 
extent,  a  physical  basis,  but  which  is  ennobled  by 
culture  and  grace. 

Versatility,  tact,  common  sense,  are  all-important. 
There  was  a  medical  student- who  always  stood  first  in 
college  examinations.  At  graduation,  his  book  knowl- 
edge amazed  his  examiners,  who  tried  in  vain  to  cor- 
ner him.  But  in  actual  practice  he  was  so  lacking  in 
judgment,  that  he  could  not  be  trusted  with  the  sim- 
plest case  of  childhood's  ailments. 

Dr.  Cyrus  Harnlin  knew  a  scholarly  young  mis- 
sionary, who  was  a  good  sermonizer,  but  did  not 
know  how  to  drive  a  board  nail.  This  veteran  mis- 
sionary pleads  for  men  who  have  a  concern  for  the 
earthly  life;  who  can  not  only  feel  for  die  ignorant 
and  thriftless,  but  can  instruct  and  stimulate  them ; 
who  can  show  them  the  use  of  tools  and  how  to  mas- 
ter the  forces  of  nature.  His  own  splendid  career  at 
Constantinople  illustrates  the  versatility  of  a  man  who 
made  a  steam  engine  and  built  a  college,  who  taught 
in  five  languages  and  ran  a  bakery. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  most  gifted  missionaries  in 
China  has  done  incalculable  service  in  teaching  natives 
of  his  district  the  culture  of  small  fruits.  The  Zulu 
missionary,  Dr.  Wilder,  who  introduced  the  sorghum 
or  sugar  plant,  opened  a  yearly  revenue  to  us  of 
millions  of  money.  Missionaries  should  be  many- 
sided  men.  Our  seminaries  should  provide  a  definite 
niissionarv  curriculum.  How  to  secure  it  is  another  of 


SPECIAL   TRAINING.  107 

those  practical  problems  pressing  upon  us.  Could  not 
the  Latin  thesis,  medieval  scholasticism  and  other  an- 
tiquated lore  give  way  to  something  better  ? 

SPECIAL  TKAINING. 

All- round  men  are  in  demand  everywhere,  but 
abroad  particularly.  When  Dr.  Pentecost  says  that  it 
is  useless  to  send  to  India  any  but  "  first-class  men," 
he  means  more  than  men  of  piety  and  education.  To 
natural  abilities  special  training  should  be  added,  just 
as  with  candidates  for  the  army  or  navy.  This  is  an 
age  of  specialists  in  every  branch  of  science.  The 
work  of  missions  needs  men  who,  as  Professor  Hul- 
bert  of  Corea  says,  are  selected  for  definite  fields,  and 
have  made  the  topography,  history,  literature  and 
-social  customs  of  the  country  they  go  to,  the  theme  of 
special  study,  just  as  each  student  of  the  science  of 
war  is  drilled  in  the  technics  of  his  chosen  branch 
of  the  service.  AVest  Point  educates  the  soldier,  but 
Annapolis,  the  sailor  and  naval  officer.  There  is  much 
in  common,  but  there  is  much  that  is  distinctive  and 
peculiar  to  each.  So  in  theological  education.  The 
same  gospel  is  needed  in  the  East  that  is  preached  in 
the  West ;  but  there  is  an  Oriental  perspective  to  truth 
which  cannot  be  ignored.  No  one  can  appreciate  its 
importance  till  he  himself  has  secured  it.  Some  of 
these  peculiarities  of  Asiatic  life  and  thought  have 
been  alluded  to,  but  it  would  take  a  volume  to  go  into 
details.  What  the  author  of  Things  Japanese  has 
said  of  one  Oriental  nation,  under  the  title  of  Topsy- 
turveydom,  illustrates  the  contrarieties  of  life  every- 
where met  with  in  the  East.  One  meets  with  physical 
oppositefl  that  arc  suggestive  of  moral  contrasts.  Our 
ideas  appear  as  absurd  to  Asiatics  as  theirs  do  io  us. 


108  PRACTICAL    PROBLEMS. 

It  is  well  to  be  reminded  of  these  social  antitheses  be- 
fore one  goes  abroad.  It  will  soften  the  shock  which 
his  sensibilities  are  likely  to  receive,  teach  him  con- 
sideration for  other  people's  views,  and  save  him  some 
mortifying  experiences  which  otherwise  his  awkward- 
ness and  ignorance  will  be  likely  to  bring  to  him. 
This  part  of  special  training  is  important  to  all  who 
woiild  appear  well  in  the  eyes  of  those  whom  they 
seek  to  benefit.  Our  most  successful  diplomats,  teach- 
ers and  preachers  have  been  those  who  have  mastered 
the  details  of  Oriental  etiquette,  and  have  made  them- 
selves at  home  amid  circumstances  strangely  unlike 
those  in  which  they  have  been  educated.  A  few 
amusing  illustrations  will  suffice  out  of  hundreds  that 
might  be  cited. 

AMUSING  ANTITHESES. 

In  the  Far  East,  a  book  is  begun  where  we  end,  the 
line  running  to  the  left  of  each  page,  and  the  finis  is 
found  where  we  should  expect  the  title  page.  Foot- 
notes are  placed  at  the  top.  We  put  the  name  on  the 
back  of  the  book  and  set  it  up  on  end  ;  but  there  the 
volumes  lie  flat,  with  edges  stamped.  We  use  small, 
stiff,  printed  visiting  cards  ;  the  Chinaman  uses  sheets 
of  thin,  folded,  verniilliou  paper,  inscribed  with  brush. 
The  Japanese  reverse  our  method  in  directing  a  letter 
and  places  the  general  before  the  particular,  thus : 
New  York,  Brooklyn,  St.  Mark's  Avenue  156,  E.  P. 
Thwiug.  He  beaches  his  boat  stern  first,  instead  of 
prow  on ;  he  pulls  the  saw  and  plane  towards  him, 
instead  of  pushing  them  from  him ;  turns  a  lock  in  an 
opposite  direction  to  what  we  should  expect,  and  in 
needlework  reverses  the  stich.  A  foreign  lady  has 
sometimes  found  her  cuffs  and  frills  sewed  on  inside 


AMUSING   ANTITHESES.  109 

out  and  upside  down,  as  she  thought.  A  horse  is 
mounted  on  his  right  side,  which  is  the  wrong  side  to 
us ;  his  harness,  also,  is  fastened  on  that  side,  while 
his  mane  is  made  to  hang  the  wrong  way — we  are 
"tempted  to  say — to  the  left  hand  rather  than  to  the 
right.  In  the  stall  his  head  is  put  where  his  tail 
ought  to  be ! 

The  figures  of  an  item  are  written  down  first  and 
the  designation  follows.  The  roof  of  a  house  is  the 
first  thing  made  by  the  builders ;  then,  numbering  the 
pieces,  they  take  them  apart  and  wait  till  the  building 
is  ready  for  the  reunited  roof.  The  wearing  of  rings, 
bangles,  brooches  and  other  baubles  is  scorned  as 
barbarous  by  Japanese  ladies,  whose  glory  is  in  their 
hair  and  oM ;  but  the  Chinese  women  look  with  won- 
der on  a  sensible  European  lady  whose  ear  has  never 
been  mutilated  for  ornaments,  and  ask  her  as  to  her 
sex,  for  to  them  the  earring  is  a  distinguishing  sign  of 
a  female,  the  other  articles  of  whose  attire  are  much 

• 

like  those  of  men.  Cold  weather  is  indicated  by  two, 
three  or  more  "  coats  cold,"  instead  of  degrees  Fahren- 
heit. Perfect  health  and  complete  success  are  called 
"  ten  parts,"  from  which  the  scale  is  graduated  down- 
ward. The  compass  needle  points  to  the  South,  in- 
stead of  North.  The  rower  is  wont  to  face  the  prow 
of  his  boat  and  push  with  his  oars,  instead  of  pull. 
The  scull-post  is  on  the  side,  instead  of  the  center  of 
the  stern.  I  have  seen  the  tow-line  fastened  to  the 
top  of  a  foremast  instead  of  being  kept  at  the  level  of 
the  deck.  The  Chinaman  shakes  his  own  hand  instead 
of  yours.  He  takes  off  his  foot-gear,  perhaps,  but 
keeps  his  head  covered.  We  wear  our  hair  and  shavo 
ourselves.  A  Chinaman  would  feel  belittled  to  do  his 
own  shaving,  and  still  more  degraded  without  his 


110  PRACTICAL    PROBLEMS. 

queue.  Like  the  ancient  Greeks,  we  regard  the  walk- 
ing-stick as  a  sign  of  ease  and  social  comfort,  but  he, 
of  infirmity.  A  thousand  years  ago,  the  laws  pro- 
hibited this  luxury  to  all  under  fifty  years  of  age.  At 
that  time  of  life  one  could  use  the  staff  in  his  ow» 
compound,  the  next  decade  in  his  own  village,  and  at 
eighty,  anywhere. 

Instead  of  a  dog,  a  singing  bird  is  taken  for  a  com- 
panion. We  play  battledoor  with  the  hands,  but  boys 
in  the  East  use  their  feet,  and  sometimes  catch  the 
shuttlecock  on  the  forehead.  Instead  of  the  punish- 
ment of  stocks,  there  is  a  huge  wooden  collar,  called 
the  cangue,  which  encloses  the  neck,  and  sometimes 
the  wrists.  Somebody  has  said  that  the  Chinamen 
every  other  day  put  clean  clothes  on  unwashed  bodies, 
while  the  Japanese  put  unwashed  clothes  on  a  clean 
skin.  Professor  Dixon  says  that,  with  many,  "Summer 
clothes  are  mostly  made  of  fresh  air." 

•      OKIENTAL  MODESTY. 

Miss  Bacon,  long  intimate  with  Japanese  women, 
defends  them  from  the  charge  of  immodesty,  and 
shows  how  delicate  their  instincts  really  are,  even  in 
matters  where  their  actions  shock  our  ideas  of  de- 
cency. She  says,  "  Any  exposure  of  the  person  that 
is  merely  incidental  to  health,  cleanliness,  or  conveni- 
ence in  doing  necessary  work,  is  perfectly  modest  and 
allowable ;  but  an  exposure,  no  matter  how  slight, 
that  is  simply  for  show,  is  in  the  highest  degree  in- 
delicate." She  goes  on  to  note  the  horror  they  feel  at 
the  indecency  of  our  ball  room  attire,  or  a  street  dress 
made  so  tight  as  to  purposely  display  outlines  that 
clothing  professes  to  conceal.  It  would  cause  "  an 
agony  of  shame  "  thus  to  appear  in  public,  though 


O1UENTAL   MODESTY.  Ill 

they  would  not  hesitate  to  bathe,  unclad,  at  the  beach 
or  bath  house,  in  company  with  men  and  women, 
without  thought  of  evil.  So,  too,  in  regard  to  the 
sacrifice  which  a  loving  daughter  makes  to  support  an 
aged  father  or  mother,  or  meet  a  husband's  pecuniary 
misfortune,  we  are  told  that  "  Conscience  seems  as 
active,  though  often  in  a  different  manner,  as  the 
old-fashioned  New  England  conscience,  transmitted 
through  the  bluest  of  Puritan  blood.  And  when  a 
duty  has  once  been  recognized  as  such,  no  timidity  or 
mortification  will  prevent  the  performance  of  it." 
Miss  B.  does  not,  of  course,  justify  the  sacrifice  of 
chastity,  but  simply  explains  the  act  from  the  Japan- 
ese point  of  view.  With  them  the  philosophy  of  virtue 
is  inherently  opposed  to  ours.  We  make  purity  the 
queen  of  virtues,  but  they  put  filial  obedience  above 
it  and  say,  "  even  if  the  body  be  defile^,  there  is  no 
defilement  of  the  soul,  for  the  woman  is  fulfilling  her 
highest  duty  in  sacrificing  all,  even  her  dearest  pos- 
session. It  is  a  climax  of  self-abnegation  that  brings 
nothing  but  honor  to  the  soul.  Consider  the  moral 
training  of  the  Japanese  maiden.  From  earliest  youth 
she  is  taught  that  obedience  and  loyalty  are  the  su- 
preme virtues ;  for  good  of  father  or  husband  she 
must  be  willing  to  meet  any  danger,  endure  any  dis- 
honor, perpetrate  any  crime.  Place  this  thought  of 
self-abnegation  in  the  foreground  and  your  perspec- 
tive is  altered,  the  other  virtues  occupying  places  of 
varying  importance.  Does  it  follow  that  all  Japanese 
women  are  unchaste?  Let  us  rather  seek  the  causes 
that  underlie  the  actions,  than  pass  judgment  upon  the 
actions  themselves.  From  a  close  study  of  the  char- 
acters of  many  Japanese  women  and  girls,  I  am  quite 
convinced  that  few  women  in  any  country  do  their 


112  PRACTICAL    PROBLEMS. 

duty,  as  they  see  it,  more  uobly,  more  single-mindedly 
and  more  satisfactorily  to  those  about  them,  than  the 
women  of  Japan." 

Illustrations  of  the  opposite  conceptions  of  life  and 
duty  entertained  by  the  Oriental  might  be  multiplied. 
These  few,  however,  show  the  importance  of  a  more 
thorough  and  special  instruction  in  these  matters. 
Oriental  studies  cover  a  larger  field  than  many  sup- 
pose. They  deserve  more  attention  than  they  receive. 
Special  institutions  for  training  medical  and  mission- 
ary candidates  for  foreign  work  are  multiplying.  They 
suggest  a  lack  in  the  curriculum  of  our  older  and  well 
endowed  professional  schools. 

Text-books,  also,  are  needed.  He  would  do  help- 
ful service  who  compiled  a  manual  on  the  topics 
briefly  alluded  to  in  these  pages.  A  careful  and  co- 
pious Index  of  Missionary  Data,  issued  yearly,  would 
serve  an  excellent  purpose  in  awakening  general  inter- 
est, and  in  guiding  the  studies  of  students  of  the  for- 
eign field.  It  would  furnish  writers  and  speakers  with 
opulent  materials,  and — possibly — it  might  be  of  serv- 
ice to  certain  journalists,  naval  officers  and  travelers 
who  are  just  now  making  themselves  ridiculous  by 
their  wild  statements  in  reference  to  missionary  work 
abroad. 

The  reports  to  the  Inspector-General  of  Customs, 
China,  on  sanitary  and  medical  topics,  lunacy,  leprosy, 
climatic  and  endemic  diseases,  with  numberless  sug- 
gestions as  to  food,  domestic  life,  susceptibility  to,  or 
exemption  from,  certain  maladies,  have  grown  richer 
year  by  year  in  suggestiveness.  They  show  what  men 
of  scientific  instincts  on  the  ground  may  do  towards 
the  solution  of  biological  and  sociological,  forensic  and 
economic  problems  of  Eastern  life.  International 


CHRISTIAN   UNITY.  113 

Congresses  in  New  York,  London  and  continental 
cities  gladly  avail  themselves  of  such  contributions. 
No  class  of  observers  are  more  competent  than  our 
resident  missionaries.  Said  the  late  Louis  Agassiz : 
"  Fsw  are  aware  how  much  we  owe  to  the  missionaries 
for  their  intelligent  observation  of  facts.  .  .  .  We 
must  look  to  them  not  a  little  for  aid  in  our  effort  to 
advance  future  science."  That  prince  of  geographers, 
Carl  Hitter,  confesses  that,  but  for  what  they  had  ac- 
complished, he  would  not  have  been  able  to  write  his 
Erdkunde  and  similar  works.  He  says  :  "  Their  com- 
munications have  become  a  part  of  the  world's  knowl- 
edge." The  Eoyal  Commission  under  Lord  Amherst 
regarded  Morrison  and  Gutslaff  as  indispensible  to 
their  plan  of  international  amity,  for  they  understood 
the  language  and  the  people,  their  modes  of  thought 
and  social  customs.  So  Judge  Goddard,  late  Consul- 
General  at  Constantinople,  said:  "  The  missionaries  in 
Turkey  have  added  to  the  respect  with  which  our 
nation  is  regarded  in  that  country.  Without  them  it 
would  not  have  been  so  easy  for  our  Government  to 
manage  its  affairs  in  that  Empire  as  it  now  is." 

There  are  many  practical  methods  by  which  the 
accumulated  data,  now  in  the  hands  of  educated  for- 
eigners abroad,  might  be  utilized  in  the  illumination  of 
international  questions  of  the  highest  importance,  per- 
taining alike  to  the  material  and  moral  interests  of  the 
race.  Leaving  this  line  of  thought,  however,  there  is 
a  final  problem  of  deeper  moment. 

CHRISTIAN  UNITY. 

How  shall  a  more  vital  and  visible  unity  among 
Christians  be  secured  ?  The  need  is  imperative  at 
home,  but  more  so  abroad  in  the  presence  of  pagan- 


114  PRACTICAL    PROBLEMS. 

ism.  Professor  Drummond  may  have  spoken  too 
hastily  about  the  "  guerilla  warfare,  and  rival  sects,"- 
forty  of  them  in  China,  it  is  said — for  the  grand  work 
done  at  the  recent  Conference  in  regard  to  versions  of 
the  Scriptures  is  a  monumental  evidence  of  practical 
cooperation ;  but  still  there  is  too  much  of  self-will, 
dogmatism  and  indocility  shown  in  denomination alism 
on  both  sides  of  the  sea.  In  his  essay  at  Shanghai, 
on  Cooperation,  Rev.  John  McCarthy  made  a  strong 
point  when  he  said  that  it  seemed  out  of  place  to  dis- 
cuss such  a  theme,  in  face  of  the  foe,  when  the  battle 
is  on  1  But,"  he  added,  "as  a  matter  of  fact,  if  all 
the  missionaries  in  China  were  fully  convinced  of  the 
value  and  importance  of  united  action,  their  connec- 
tion with  home  churches,  for  the  most  part,  altogether 
prevent  any  practical  step  towards  closer  union.  One 
fails  to  see  how  it  can  be  otherwise,  while  missionaries 
represent  denominational  and  even  political  differ- 
ences to  the  Chinese,  instead  of  only  representing  the  . 
Christ  of  God."  These  geographical  as  well  as  sec- 
tarian issues  cannot  be  denied,  though  each  tries  to 
defend  his  own. 

"  If  they  would  let  us  alone  at  home,  we  should 
have  united  here  in  Japan,"  said  a  veteran  Methodist 
leader  to  me.  So  said  the  oldest  and  most  experi- 
enced of  other  communions.  They  feel  that  their 
efficiency  as  working  boards  is  weakened  by  division, 
and  that  they  are  ill  prepared  to  meet  the  soul-hunger 
of  many  in  the  East,  coming  out  of  the  darkness  of 
idolatry,  or  out  of  the  apathy  of  agnosticism,  who  cry 
out,  as  did  the  Japanese  noticed  already  on  page 
48,  for  the  moral  earnestness  of  conviction  rather 
than  for  theories  and  forms.  "  O  for  men  of  God !  " 
writes  a  burning  soul  at  Nanking,  "  students  from  the 


CHRISTIAN   UNITY.  115 

university  of  experience,  able  to  teach  the  Bible,  not 
as  a  theology,  but  as  a  regenerative  power  in  the  con- 
version of  souls  and  the  upbuilding  of  the  Kiugdom  of 
Christ !  Send  us  men  who  will  preach  the  essence 
of  Christianity,  Jesus  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God." 

The  question,  then,  is  one  which  the  home  churches 
are  to  decide,  both  as  to  the  fact  and  methods  of  a 
closer  visible  union  of  working  forces.  When  the  tide 
is  low,  says  Dr.  James  Hamilton,  then  every  tiny 
shrimp  thinks  its  little  pool  to  be  the  ocean.  When 
the  great  sea  comes  surging  in,  it  finds  a  larger  ocean 
with  which  its  little  pool  mingles.  So  when  spiritual 
life  is  low,  one  sect  or  another  assumes  to  be  THE 
Church,  and  rears  its  barriers  about  itself.  "  But 
when  the  flood  of  God's  reviving  grace  flows  in,  and 
brings  its  members  into  fellowship  with  others  of  the 
Lord's  people,  they  find  that  there  is  a  church,  worthy 
of  God,  far  more  extensive  than  their  own  sect.  Let 
the  Spirit  of  God  work  mightily,  as  of  old,  and  there 
will  never  be  any  difficulty  about  true  cooperation." 
Things  are  tending  to  this  end.  The  unity  of  the 
church,  the  parity  of  her  clergy,  the  privilege  of  her 
sacraments,  the  glory  of  her  unbroken  fellowship,  the 
dignity  of  her  mission,  and  the  power  of  her  diversi- 
fied, but  concurrent,  life  are  coming  to  be  more  heart- 
ily accepted  as  the  years  go  on. 

STAR  OF  THE  EAST. 

Ex  ORIENTE  Lux.  The  Light  of  the  WTorld  came 
from  the  East.  For  nineteen  centuries  its  glory  has 
brightened  the  West,  while  the  Orient  has  again  grown 
dark,  where  degenerate  Christianity,  or  absolute  pa- 
ganism has  prevailed.  The  STAR  OF  THE  EAST  in  its 


116  EX    ORIENTAL   LUX. 

westward  way  has  not  only  marked  the  course  of  em- 
pire, but  the  triumphs  of  Immanuel's  Kingdom. 

Ethnic  migrations  have  their  limits ;  but  not  so  with 
Messiah's  march.  "  The  great  westward  movements 
of  history,"  says  Professor  Dennis  of  Beirut,  "  have 
reached  at  least  a  geographical  limit  on  our  Pacific 
shores;  but  the  star  of  the  world's  destiny,  which 
first  arose  in  the  East,  has  held  to  its  westward  pro- 
gress until  it  shapes  its  course  once  more  to  the  Ori- 
ent. It  only  remains  that  fully  developed  and  per- 
fected republican  institutions  should  bring  in  the 
Golden  Age  of  political  and  civil  empire,  to  give  its 
brightest  radiance  to  this  westward-moving  Star." 

We  cannot  doubt  that  the  Oriental  is  yet  to  be  a 
power  in  the  world's  history,  and  the  East  is  to  be  a 
theatre  of  some  of  the  sublimest  scenes  of  the  future. 
Who  is  there  that  does  not  desire  to  contribute  to  the 
consummation  of  events  so  vast  and  momentous  ? 


INDEX. 


Ability  of  Missionaries,  86,  104, 
113.  Abraham,  39.  Acceleration 
of  events,  87.  Actors  despised, 
66.  Agassiz,  86,  113.  Alaskan 
youth,  18.  Alexander,  78.  Allen, 
85.  American  brag,  71.  Amherst, 
Lord,  113.  Anatomy  of  national 
life,  12.  Ancestor  worship,  98. 
Angelo,  11.  Animal  food,  16.  An- 
titheses of  life,  108.  Arabic,  52. 
Aramaic,  52.  Architecture  of  Chi- 
na, 61.  Aristotle,  10.  Armorer 
esteemed,  68.  Arnold,  21,  89.  Art 
of  Egypt,  53 ;  of  India,  54 ;  of 
Greece,  54.  Aryan,  50,  51.  As- 
ceticism in  missions,  101.  Ash- 
more,  72.  Asia,  first  sight,  7  ;  its 
thought,  78.  Aspects  of  nature, 
13,  14.  Assyria,  52.  Atavism,  19. 
Atlantic  Monthly,  75. 

Bacon,  Miss,  36,  66,  110.  Bail- 
ly,  41.  Balaam,  41.  Baths,  pro- 
miscuous, 31.  Battledoor,  110. 
Beaconsfield,  72.  Beale,  14.  Bean- 
sobre,  15.  Bedouin,  52.  Beecher, 
67,  88.  Bell,  10.  Benedikt,  19. 
Bengalese,  22.  Bible  to  be  cen- 
tral, 84.  Bird,  Miss,  64.  Birds  in- 
stead of  dogs,  110.  Book  of  the 
dead,  40,  53 ;  burning  of,  59;  of 
history,  61.  Bosworth,  50.  Bow- 
ring,  57.  Brahma  Somaj,  31. 
Bridgeman,  57.  British  Medical 
Journal,  28.  Brown,  15.  Bruce 
15,  75.  Buckle,  12,  13,  17,  18. 
Buddhism,  25.  Burne,  16. 

Calvin,  89.  Camoens,  57.  Can- 
ton, 57,  87.  Cardwell,  103.  Caste, 
24,  82.  Cataract  of  eye,  28.  Cey- 
lon, 80,  105.  Chamberlain,  25,  36, 
66.  Champollion,  56.  China,  a 
library,  (10  ;  language,  58  ;  archi- 


tecture, 61;  arsenals,  73;  fecundi- 
ty, 72;  statesmen,  75;  wall,  58,  62. 
Chefoo,  104.  Christianize,  not 
Anglicize,  97.  Church,  unity,  113. 
Clergy,  parity,  115;  each  a  bish- 
op, 103.  Climate,  13,  16,  105. 
Clothing,  17, 110.  Coan,  17.  Coats 
cold,  109.  Cobra,  15.  Coleman, 
14,  15.  Conceit,  European,  95. 
Conferring  with  heathen,  97.  Con- 
ference at  Shanghai,  85,  98,  104. 
Confucianism,  26,  43,  61,  63,  89, 
97,  99.  Congress,  Indian,  73;  In- 
ternational, 113.  Continence  need- 
ful, 87.  Cook,  Captain,  23 ;  Jo- 
seph, 31.  Copper  vessels,  68.  Cor- 
bett,  104.  Corea,  63,  70,  85.  Cul- 
len,  10.  Customs,  report,  86,  112. 
Customs,  strange,  108. 

Dante,  50.  Darwin,  14.  De- 
crepitude denied,  71.  Degeneracy 
by  caste,  24.  Dening,  69.  Den- 
nis, 116.  Despotism  and  art,  69. 
Dieterici,  96.  Dixon,  110.  Domes- 
tication of  animals,  40.  Drama  in 
Japan,  45.  Draper,  20.  Dress, 
immodest,  110.  Drummond,  114. 
DuBose,  26,  39,  44. 

Earthquakes,  13,  14,  22.  Ed- 
kins,  57,  74,  104.  Edwards,  82. 
Egypt,  many  books  on,  9;  people, 
53;  art,  53.  Eight  weeks  enough, 
70.  Ellinwood,  101,  102.  Emer- 
son, 31,  32,  89.  Emperor's  recep- 
tion, 23.  Encyclopedia,  Chinese, 
59.  Ethiopia,  52.  Ethnology  de- 
fined, 10. 

Faber,  57.  Fairy  tales,  66.  Fam- 
ily, joint,  34.  Famine,  causes,  17. 
Fear  of  heathen,  8,  92.  Ferguson, 
80.  Ferri,  19.  Feudalism,  fruits 


118 


INDEX. 


of,  69.  Finck,  70.  Floggings,  30. 
Foochow,  100.  Food,  16.  Foot- 
binding,  100.  Forry,  15.  Fryer  74. 

Genesis  of  thought,  10.  Gib- 
bon, 20,  24.  Gladstone,  33.  God- 
dard,  113.  Gospel,  needed  now, 
82;  will  reconstruct,  97.  Gould, 

39.  Gracey,  102.    Greathouse,  64. 
Gutzlaff,  57,  113.     Gwilt,  62. 

Hager,82.  Hamilton,  115.  Ham- 
lin,  102, 106,  Harcourt,41.  Hayes, 
75.  Heat,  14.  Heathen  classics, 
84.  Heaven,  Hindu,  41.  Heredity, 
19.  Hilaire,  St.,  25.  Historic  evo- 
lution, 9.  Hoarded  wealth,  102. 
Holmes,  20,  32.  Home,  Oriental, 
33.  Honorifics.  65,  71.  Hulbert, 
107.  Humboldt,  18,  39.  Hunter, 
10,  17. 

Ideas,  mighty,  90.  Idolatry,  a 
compound,  43.  Ignorance  of  the 
East,  80,  95,  108,  112.  Imagina- 
tion developed,  13,  46.  Immobil- 
ity, 26.  Immortality  of  the  soul, 

40.  Imperturbability,  27.    India, 
a  study,  49 ;  a  museum,  55.     In- 
dian Congresses,  73.     Individual- 
ity, national,  21.     Industrial  Arts, 
67.      Tnfe  made,  61.     Insanity  of 
the  West,   27.       Insensibility  to 
pain,  28. 

Japaneee  schools,  75;  language, 
64;  not  unchaste,  111;  at  Hawaii, 
72.  Jarves,  54,  55.  Jeypore,  42. 
Jones,  7,  95. 

Kaffirs,  104.  Kerr,  85.  Keshub 
Chunder  Sen,  31,  34.  Kip,  47. 
Kissing  feet,  22.  Kiangnan  ar- 
senal, 73. 

Labor  despised,  68.  Learning  a 
pastime,  69.  Le  Normant,  58. 
Lewis,  54.  Literature  of  China, 
57;  Egypt,  52;  Japan,  65;  Hindu, 
42.  Lions,  Egyptian,  53.  Lom- 
broso,  19.  Lowell,  J.  R.,  70.  Low- 
ell, Percival,  70,  76.  Luther,  89. 
Lyell,  14. 


Macao,  57.  Macnuley,  91.  Mack- 
intosh, 10.  Maine,  Sir  H.,  24. 
M'Clatchie,  65.  McCarthy,  114. 
Magnetism,  personal,  105.  Man- 
sel,  24.  Manuals  needed,  112. 
Marriage,  premature,  24.  Mars- 
den,  15.  Marshman,  57.  Marvin, 
21.  Martineau,  11.  Mateer,  84. 
Medhurst,  57.  Mendicants,  29. 
Mill,  J.  S.,  10.  Mills,  19.  Milne, 
57.  Mirage,  15.  Missionaries,  de- 
spised, 80,  114;  fettered,  114;  suc- 
cessful, 79,  82  ;  praised,  86,  104, 
113;  medic.ol,  85;  self-supporting, 
104;  asceticism,  101  ;  lay  helpers, 
104;  qualifications,  48.  Mobs  con- 
trolled, 99,  106.  Modesty,  Japan- 
ese, 110.  Mohametanism,  54. 
Mongolians,  96.  Morrison,  57, 
113.  Muller,  Max,  9,  49,  50,  71. 
Museums,  55.  Mutilated  child- 
wives,  25.  Mysticism,  31. 

Nakashima,  76.  Napoleon,  78. 
Nature  worship,  38,  46,  Neesima, 
92.  Nineveh,  52,  54.  Noyes,  101. 
Noldeke,  52. 

Occidental  worry,  27,  69.  Orien- 
tal characteristics,  19,  107  ;  taste, 
55  ;  studies,  8  ;  broad,  112  ;  atti- 
tude towards,  94,  96  ;  Out-door 
life  in  Europe,  24. 

Pagodas,  62.  Palgrave,  70.  Pa- 
pyrus, 58.  Parganya,  51.  Par- 
ker, 85.  Passions  in  Asiatics,  22, 
24.  Patriotism  in  Japan,  76.  Paul, 
47.  Peck,  85.  Penitential  pills, 
27.  Pentecost,  105,  107.  Perci- 
val, 80.  Phelps,  73,  77.  Physical 
factors,  10,  Pierson,  95.  Poetry 
in  Japan,  66.  Poole,  52.  Poly- 
nesia, 12.  Printing  invented,  61. 
Pritchard,  14.  Problems,  practi- 
cal, 94.  Putnam,  27. 

Race  hatred,  95.  Railways  in 
China,  74.  Rawlinson,  56.  Re- 
form, its  philosophy,  98.  Reed, 
42,  104.  Rein,  G3,  67.  Rejuve- 
nation of  the  East,  70.  Religion 
in  the  East,  37.  Rey,  14.  Rice 


INDEX. 


119 


diet,  1G,  24.  Bitter,  14,  86,  113. 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  8,  15. 
Royse,  96.  Kuskin,  54.  Roof,  62. 

Sacrifices,  42.  Sailors  and  fire- 
crackers, 46.  Sanscrit,  49.  Scen- 
ery, alone  left,  8,  68.  Schiff  55. 
Scotland  and  Spain,  12.  Sectari- 
anism, 114.  Self-abasement,  22; 
immolation,  29,  42.  Seminary 
studies,  107.  Semitic  tongues,  52. 
Seward,  33.  Shanghai,  85,  98. 
Shinar,  73.  Shintoism,  44.  Simon 
Stylites,  29.  Sircar,  24.  Smith, 
A.,  10.  Smith,  S.,  80.  Sorghum, 
106.  Special  training,  107.  Spen- 
cer, 20.  Stagnation  stirred,  8. 
Substitutes,  28.  Sumner,  75.  Su- 
pernaturalisni,  79.  Swatow,  Mr., 
67.  Sympathy  craved,  48, 

Taj,  54.  Talmage,  27.  Taine, 
11.  Taylor,  105.  Tea  drinking, 
45.  Temple,  Sir  R.,  81.  Tenny- 
son, 49.  Textile  fabrics,  55.  Than- 
atophidia,  15.  Theaters,  66.  The- 
osophy,  43.  Thwing,  18,  24. 


Thorburn,  22.  Tiger's  nose  a 
charm,  15.  Titian,  11.  Topsy- 
turvydom, 109.  Tortures,  28. 
Trade  despised,  68.  Translation 
of  books,  73.  Trinkets  despised, 
109.  Truth  ever  intolerant,  90. 
Tschudi,  14.  Tyndall,  38. 

Underfed  in  India,  17.  Unity, 
Christian,  113.  Upanishads,  41. 

Vedas,  41,  43,  49,  97.  Vidyas- 
agara,  25.  Virgil,  41.  Virginity 
sacrificed,  42.  Vishnu,  41.  Von 
Herder,  88. 

Washing  of  body,  110.  Water- 
sheds of  thought,  39.  Webster, 
8.  Wilder,  106.  Williams,  15, 
26,  33,  57,  104.  Woman  in  Japan, 
36,  65. 

Yates,  100.  Yenn,  Rev.  Y.  K., 
99,  101. 

Zenana,  34,  80. 


A     000  022  960     9 


